The top U.S. envoy for North Korea, Glyn Davies, has warned Pyongyang against any attempts at nuclear testing, following fears that nuclear tests would follow the failed rocket launch, repeating a pattern that occurred in 2006 and 2009. Many analysts assume an atomic test by North Korea is just a matter of time following the failure of Pyongyang’s rocket launch on April 13. Two previous rocket launches in 2006 and 2009 were followed by a nuclear test.
“I think it would be a serious miscalculation and mistake if North Korea works to engage in a nuclear test,” Glyn Davies told reporters following a meeting with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts in Seoul. Describing Washington’s policy on North Korea as “engagement on the one hand, pressure on the other,” Davies said that the “engagement aspect remains open. If they make the right choices, there can be a different future for North Korea.”
G8 leaders meeting in the United States over the weekend agreed that North Korea faces further isolation if it continues its pursuit of a nuclear program.
