Ethiopian tanks in Somalia. Ethiopia got most of its weapons from the Soviets,

    and now relies on North Korean replacement parts. The South Koreans are

    incensed that after pressuring Seoul to sanction the North by limiting such

    transactions, the U.S. almost immediately saw fit to approve one.

JoongAng Daily, South Korea

'Arrogant America' Approves North Korean Weapons Sale

"The United States has violated the same U.N. Security Council resolution it had championed and in the process, it has killed any justification for preventing another country from importing North Korean weapons."

EDITORIAL

April 10, 2007

South Korea - JoongAng Daily - Original Article (English)

It is beyond our understanding why the United States has ignored a United Nations resolution and so given tacit consent to the export of weapons by North Korea. It is simply astonishing that the United States has seen fit to neglect such an agreement reached by the international community. It is also an absurdity that the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treat, which the United States has pointed to as a basis for demanding the abolishment of North Korea’s nuclear weapons, can be so easily flouted.

Right after North Korea launched a nuclear test last October, the United States took the lead in adopting U.N. Security Council resolution 1718  against Pyongyang. The resolution stipulates that U.N. member states are banned from importing any type of weaponry from North Korea or from providing money that could be used in the development of weapons of mass destruction.

What's more, the United States pressed hard on South Korea to participate in its Proliferation Security Initiative  to limit the spread of WMDs, chiefly by inspecting North Korean vessels traveling on the open sea.

But at that very hour, according to The New York Times , the United States decided to approve Ethiopia's importation of weapons from North Korea.

Pursuant to the U.N. resolution, the United States should have stopped Ethiopia from importing weapons from the North. But since the weapons would be used to fight Islamic terrorists in Somalia, Washington tacitly approved the imports.

In other words, the United States violated the same resolution it had championed and in the process, it has killed any justification for preventing another country from importing North Korean weapons. The resolution which was designed to sanction the North is as good as dead.

This is not new for the United States. There have been many similar instances - even after the Cold War. The most recent case in point is its invasion of Iraq.

Of course the United States makes its national interests a priority. The United States has the right to determine what contributes to its national interests. But it should also be responsible for respecting international agreements that it enters into.

The country should not expect the consent of others if it continues to be arrogant, and to apply double standards as it sees fit. Criticism of its unilateralism, acted out under the guise of pragmatism, will continue to grow