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U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in St. Petersburg, Russia, where she is accompanying President George W. Bush for the G8 summit, that China's "affirmative vote" for the resolution had showed a sense of "responsibility."
The United Nations Security Council votes unanimously on a resolution on the DPRK missile crisis at the UN headquarters in New York, Saturday, July 15, 2006. (Xinhua Photo)
BEIJING, July 16 (Xinhua) -- UN Security Council Saturday's resolution on the missile tests of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has drawn mixed reactions from among the countries involved in the six-party talks.

The DPRK ultimately "will have no choice but to return to the talks and pursue denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula" due to the international unity displayed by the resolution, she added.

Dan Bartlett, a senior counselor for President Bush, told reporters that his country is satisfied with the compromise reached by UN Security Council members to get "a unanimous vote."

The UN Security Council should urge the DPRK to come back to the negotiating table through continuous diplomatic efforts to solve disputes in a peaceful way, he said.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Sunday the resolution reflects the common approach of the world community.

"I believe the resolution is balanced and demonstrates to Pyongyang that the world community is unanimous and does not want the situation to run into a blind alley," he told a press conference in St. Petersburg.

The international community hopes that the DPRK will suspend its missile tests and restart the six-party talks on the basis of the outcome yielded last September, Lavrov said.

He also expressed his hope that G8 leaders will support the resolution adopted by the UN Security Council.

South Korea's Foreign Ministry said Sunday that the South Korean government supports the latest resolution, and that all parties concerned should resolve various issues through diplomatic ways and dialogues.

The DPRK should also return to the six-party talks immediately to negotiate on the implementation of a joint statement issued last September on the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula, said a spokesman for the ministry.

Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso on Sunday hailed the "strong and binding" resolution. Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe made similar comments in a statement, calling on the DPRK to listen to the international community's voice and return to the six-party talks.

Meanwhile, the DPRK's UN Ambassador Pak Gil Yon said his country "totally rejects" the resolution as the DPRK, a sovereignty nation, is entitled to conduct missile tests.

The DPRK "remains unchanged in its will to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula in a negotiated peaceful manner just as it committed itself in the September 19 joint statement of the six-party talks," Pak said.

The UN Security Council on Saturday unanimously approved Resolution 1695, urging the DPRK to reestablish its preexisting commitments to a moratorium on missile launching.

The resolution also called on all parties concerned to exercise restraint, to take no actions that may deteriorate the tense situation, and to resolve the issue through political and diplomatic means. Enditem