Judi Moylan (Pearce, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is addressed to the Minister for Foreign Affairs. What is the government’s reaction to the announced North Korea six-party talks agreement?

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

First of all, I thank the honourable member, and I can tell her that the Australian government welcomes the agreement that has been reached at the most recent session of the six-party talks in Beijing. This is a good start. But, having said that, obviously it will require monitoring and follow-up.

Clearly, we very much hope that, having reached this agreement, the North Korean government will fulfil their obligations to move quickly to disable permanently its nuclear programs. Under this agreement, within 60 days North Korea is to shut down and seal its nuclear reactor at Yongbyon and allow the entry of International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors. Also, working groups will meet within 30 days to discuss economic and energy cooperation with North Korea and the whole issue of the normalisation of political relations. The next phase of activity will see North Korea provide a complete declaration of all of its nuclear programs and the disablement of all of its existing facilities, and North Korea would then receive emergency energy assistance followed by a package of economic, energy and humanitarian assistance.

I want to take the opportunity in particular to pay tribute to the American negotiator, Assistant Secretary Christopher Hill, whom many members of the government know, and to the Chinese government for the very good work that they have done also to help make this early step forward possible. This is of course the beginning of a process for North Korea to rejoin the international community. It does need to abandon all of its nuclear weapons and programs and return to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and subject itself fully to International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards.

I am glad to say that Australia worked closely with our regional partners—Japan and China. I visited North Korea on a couple of occasions myself. We clearly worked closely with the United States in order to do what we could in support of an agreement. In continuing support of an agreement, we will consider what assistance in certain circumstances we might directly provide to North Korea. We have in the past provided food assistance through the World Food Program, and it is possible that we could provide some additional assistance, including energy assistance and safeguard expertise.

I am glad to observe that the opposition’s spokesman for foreign affairs, the member for Barton, has welcomed this agreement. That is good to see. I note, though, that he said in the same context that, whilst he welcomed this agreement, Iraq had been a ‘distraction’. I thought that was a curious thing to say. It is pretty obvious that it has not been. It is pretty obvious that the Americans and the international community have been able to work on this issue. It has been laborious and difficult, but it is a process that has so far gone pretty well. Iraq or no Iraq, it has certainly been possible to do a good job on this. If American prestige is damaged by defeat in Iraq, it will make it much more difficult for the Americans to negotiate these sorts of agreements with other countries in the future. There is no doubt about that. If America is humiliated in Iraq, it will diminish American power and influence around the world and that will be at a price that all of us, including Australia, will pay.