New development in tale of two Koreas
By Daily Bruin Staff
Oct. 15, 2006 9:00 p.m.
RELATED STORIES
In the early morning of Oct. 9, diplomats representing the 15
member states of the United Nations Security Council held an
emergency session.
According to U.S. and South Korean intelligence, North Korea had
conducted a nuclear weapons test.
The Security Council’s response to the North Korean
nuclear tests has been predictable.
The member nations have convened with the United States, pushing
a draft resolution for sanctions and stricter import inspections
and bans on the Korean border.
Coinciding with the North Korean crisis, the Security Council
also put to vote its nomination for the next secretary-general.
As expected, it chose South Korean Foreign Minister Ban
Ki-moon.
Not many had predicted the race for the most prolific
humanitarian job in the world would be over so quickly, especially
when compared with Kofi Annan’s appointment in 1997.
Thus, unusually so, Ban received unanimous approval from the
Security Council relatively early on in the process.
The tale of the “two Koreas” shows a juxtaposition
of their significance and relevance in the United Nations.
On the one hand, the Security Council has nominated a
secretary-general with remarkable swiftness, allowing for a
comfortable transition period.
On the other, the same Security Council must take responsibility
for not reprimanding North Korea with harsher punishments earlier
on and for taking a passive approach to the six-party talks that
were conducted.
This dichotomy defines the struggle of the United Nations to
protect international peace while reducing its bureaucratic
presence.
Even further, this tale reveals how the two Koreas have evolved
to embody contrasting principles.
These outcomes spell out success for one nation and danger for
the other.
Srivastava is a second-year global studies and political
science student. She is a member of Bruin Debate and Model
UN.
