International Response:  EU Works to Finalize Missile Code of Conduct

By Mike Nartker
Global Security Newswire

WASHINGTON — Officials of Denmark, currently holding the presidency of the European Union, have begun talks with several countries to finalize work on an international code of conduct to halt ballistic missile proliferation, a Danish official told Global Security Newswire today (see GSN, July 8).

The consultations, which Denmark began soon after assuming the EU presidency from Spain July 1, are intended to explore how to accommodate several outstanding concerns about the code without turning it into a “Christmas tree,” the official said.  The EU has shepherded efforts this year to negotiate the code, which was first drafted in 2000 by countries of the Missile Technology Control Regime.

Negotiators have already held meetings with China and are set to begin consulting with India today, the official said.  In addition, representatives are expected to visit to Israel and Egypt next week, the official added.  A number of other countries that have been active in the code’s development are also slated to be consulted.

There are currently no plans to consult with North Korea, which has long been a country of concern for missile proliferation, the Danish official said, citing Pyongyang’s past lack of cooperation.

There also will probably be no further consultations with Iran.  The country previously was active in developing the code, but it did not attend the last conference on the code in Madrid in June even though it had been invited and showed an early willingness to attend.  Iran’s decision not to attend has made it difficult to conduct a dialogue, the official said.

Ongoing consultations cover several issues.  For example, some countries have expressed reluctance toward confidence-building measures in the code, which would require each signatory to outline its ballistic missile program once a year and to notify other signatories of any ballistic missile tests, according to the official.

Some countries would like the code to address cooperation issues such as satellite launch assistance, the official said (see GSN, Feb. 15).  A set of incentives considered during the draft process focused on offering assistance for space technology programs to deter countries from building ballistic missiles under the pretense of developing space-launch vehicles.  Those incentives were dropped, however, before the draft was approved during a February conference in Paris (see GSN, Feb. 11).  The general consensus seems to be that cooperation issues are beyond the scope of the code, the official said.

One country is concerned that by agreeing to the code it would be forced to abide by other international arms control agreements such as the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, the official said.  Other talks center around regional issues, the official said, declining to name specific countries.

Once consultations are completed, the European Union plans to conduct an assessment to determine the next step in the process, the official said, adding that it “won’t take months before we get to a consensus.”  There will probably not be another full conference on the code since it would not lead to a better understanding, the official said.  The European Union’s long-stated goal is to launch the code at a ceremony in The Hague by the end of the year — a goal shared by the United States and other countries involved, the official said (see GSN, Feb. 12).

“The code is in good health,” the official said.  “I think we’re going to have a code that will be balanced and at the same time be a first step in the curbing and prevention of the proliferation of ballistic missiles.”

For further information, see:

Draft International Code of Conduct (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute)

U.S. State Department MTCR Summary

NPT Text

States Parties to the NPT (U.N.)

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North Korea:  United States Imposes Sanctions Over Sale to Yemen

The United States has sanctioned a North Korean firm over a sale of Scud missile components to Yemen that occurred during the Clinton administration, U.S. officials said yesterday (see GSN, Aug. 22).

Changgwang Sinyong Corporation, the marketing section for North Korea’s missile program, has been sanctioned for the sale, the New York Times reported today.  The sanctions also apply to North Korea itself and include its work on missile technology electronics, space systems and military aircraft, according to the Times.

While the United States conducts no trade with North Korea, the sanctions are still an important gesture, a Bush administration official said.

“We are making a statement to the world that North Korea engages in dangerous and illicit activity,” an administration official said.  “We are making it clear that if you are a friend of the United States or civil society these are characters you do not want to be associated with.”

After the United States raised concerns over the sale, Yemen indicated that it would no longer purchase missile components from North Korea, U.S. officials said.  North Korea has been notified about the sanctions, but has not appeared to respond, they said.

The review of the Scud component sale has been underway for some time, a U.S. official said.  The delay in administering sanctions on North Korea for the sale does not indicate divisions within the Bush administration and is not meant to affect broader U.S. policy toward North Korea, the official said.

“It simply reflected the difficulty in assembling the necessary intelligence and making a judgment about it,” the official said (Michael Gordon, New York Times, Aug. 23).

This latest round of sanctions is the seventh time North Korea has been penalized for violating the Missile Technology Control Regime (Peter Slevin, Washington Post, Aug. 23).

For further information, see:

U.S. State Department MTCR Summary

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Iraq:  Iran Considers Selling Shahab 3

Iran and Iraq have agreed to establish a committee to consider Iraq’s request to buy Shahab 3 medium-range ballistic missiles and up to 100 aircraft from Iran, Western intelligence sources said, according to Periscope Daily Defense News Capsules, which cited a Middle East Newsline report (see GSN, Aug. 5).

“Iran won’t do anything that is rash.  But the mere fact that Iran did not say no to the Iraqi request is significant and reflects how far their relations have developed,” a Western intelligence analyst said.  The two countries fought an eight-year war in the 1980s (see GSN, Aug. 19; Periscope Daily Defense News Capsules, Aug. 19).

For further information, see:

Carnegie Endowment World Missile Chart

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