Kim Beazley (Brand, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Can the Prime Minister confirm North Korea has today tested a nuclear weapon? Can he confirm from unclassified sources available to the government the size of the blast? Has the Prime Minister received any communications from the US or Japan as to their intentions? Given the seriousness of these developments, will the Prime Minister consider convening an emergency meeting of regional foreign ministers to coordinate a diplomatic response?

John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In answer to the Leader of the Opposition, I am advised that there is seismic confirmation that North Korea conducted a nuclear test earlier today. In those circumstances I would condemn, and I assume I would have the unanimous agreement of the House in doing so, the test in the strongest possible terms. North Korea is very gravely mistaken if she thinks that a nuclear test will improve that country’s bargaining position. The test has destabilised the region. It has eroded North Korea’s own security. A strong international response is called for, and Australia will give full support to that response. I might point out that, in advance of today’s very regrettable developments, the government has been working very closely in the context of not only its ongoing support for the six-party talks but also the activities that have been taking place in the Security Council of the United Nations; therefore our position and our cooperation with our allies is very well known.

I might say that one of the more positive developments in this otherwise very regrettable saga took place over the weekend with the visit to Beijing of the newly installed Japanese Prime Minister, Mr Abe. If that visit heralds an improvement in relations between Japan and China that is a very welcome development indeed. As a country that has very close relations with both Japan and China, it has been a matter of regret to Australia that relations between those two countries have deteriorated so much in recent times. I welcome the initiative of the new Japanese Prime Minister, to whom I spoke on the telephone late last week conveying my congratulations on his election. I will have the opportunity of meeting him at the APEC meeting in Vietnam next month.

Australia will call on the United Nations Security Council to take swift and effective action against North Korea and impose strong measures under chapter 7 of the United Nations charter. We will also advocate a UN Security Council regime against the DPRK that includes targeted financial and travel sanctions, other trade restrictions and/or aviation restrictions. Australia will also actively promote with other like-minded countries a concerted, strong international response through key regional mechanisms such as APEC and the ASEAN Regional Forum.

I know I speak for all Australians in saying that we are outraged that a country that has to rely on the international community to feed its own people and to bring them back from the brink of starvation devotes so many of its scarce resources to missiles and nuclear weapons progress. This issue represents a great challenge to the United Nations. We on this side of the House are often told that we do not pay enough regard to the processes of the United Nations. If the United Nations is to come up to scratch on this issue it will win great respect and an enhanced reputation. But if the United Nations fails to act effectively against this outrage from North Korea that will represent a further diminution of its authority.

I think I can speak for everyone in this House in saying that we are both disturbed and outraged at this action by North Korea which should be condemned in the strongest possible terms. The suggestion that has been made by the Leader of the Opposition, for which I thank him, will be discussed and considered by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and me.

Michael Keenan (Stirling, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is addressed to the Minister for Foreign Affairs. Would the minister further update the House on claims by North Korea that it has conducted a nuclear test today?

Alexander Downer (Mayo, Liberal Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Stirling for his question. This is a profoundly serious issue, and I think the Prime Minister has very comprehensively explained the approach of the Australian government to the issue. As I said, I think it is a profoundly serious issue, and one the House needs to focus on.

There have been three processes through which the issue of North Korea has been addressed in recent times. The first and dominant process has been the so-called six-party talks, which includes North Korea, South Korea, Japan, Russia, China and the United States of America. The endeavour has been to try to get North Korea to move from a nuclear posture to cooperating fully with the international community and in response receiving significant quantities of aid and an opening up of trade and investment with the rest of the world. The six-party process has occurred occasionally but not often and, despite a framework being negotiated last year and an agreed statement being issued, North Korea has refused to return to those six-party talks.

The Leader of the Opposition earlier asked the Prime Minister a question about convening a regional grouping of foreign ministers. To add to his point, I tell him that the week before last in New York the Secretary of State to the United States, Condoleezza Rice, convened the second of what is called the five-plus-five meeting, which is the six parties minus the North Koreans, of course, and five other countries in the region, including Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia. This was a useful opportunity for us to make sure our positions are coordinated. Over the last few days we have had telephone contact with each other to make sure that, in the event of this test taking place, there will be a coordinated response. I think it is very possible that, for example, during the APEC meeting next month in Vietnam there will be another five-plus-five meeting. In the meantime, it is our view that the action should move straightaway to the United Nations Security Council. In the United Nations Security Council there must be a robust response.

It is important that all members—and I focus here on the P5, the five permanent members—understand the importance of having a chapter 7 resolution and of specific measures being taken against the North Korean regime. I have some quiet confidence that that will be achievable. We will have to wait and see; I am not getting into canvassing the different views of the different governments. But, as the Prime Minister said a moment ago, one very important development and one very positive development in what is otherwise a rather gloomy day in international relations has been the summit between Prime Minister Abe and President Hu Jintao. It is good that China and Japan are beginning the process of reconciliation, and in this context of the North Korean nuclear test that is a very important development.

The immediate focus should be on the Security Council—making sure the Security Council takes decisive action. I have quiet optimism that that is going to be possible, but the regional countries will certainly continue to cooperate and keep in contact with each other. One of the most important things here is to make sure there is a united—not just regional, frankly, but united—international response to this outrage of a test, assuming the test is confirmed. It is absolutely crucial that there is as united a position internationally as there possibly can be. I think that is possible.

Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and International Security) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. I refer to the Prime Minister’s remarks just now about an appropriate United Nations response to North Korea’s grossly destabilising act in conducting a nuclear test. Which countries does the Prime Minister anticipate any resistance from within the UN Security Council in formulating any appropriate response to North Korea? What action does the Prime Minister anticipate taking in capitals to assist in bringing about a positive outcome through the Security Council, and will the Prime Minister be announcing those actions in the period ahead?

John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We have made our position on this abundantly clear. I do not presume to read the mind of every member of the Security Council. I share the quiet optimism of the foreign minister that the P5 will cooperate. The member for Griffith will be aware from past experience that there is sometimes a gap between the rhetoric and the action of at least one of those members, sometimes two; I do not think it is productive for me to identify them.