UN ponders North Korea sanctions
By George Dave,WNS US Bureau Chief
WASHINGTON - Diplomats have not yet agreed on the sanctions North Korea should face, two days after the country reportedly carried out a nuclear test. The UN Security Council is considering a US proposal which would impose a range of tough measures on Pyongyang. But China and Russia are arguing against any sanctions that would be backed by military force.
Earlier, reports of a second apparent nuclear test were dismissed by senior officials in South Korea and the US. A Japanese TV channel had said Tokyo officials were investigating reports of a further test following earth tremors in the area. But US and South Korean officials said they had detected no seismic activity in that area.
The US has proposed a 13-point draft resolution and wants to see the sanctions brought under Chapter Seven of the UN Charter, which means they would be mandatory and ultimately enforceable by military means. The American Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, has warned North Korea that it faces sanctions unlike any it has experienced before, because it had crossed "an important line" when it claimed it launched a nuclear test. In an interview on American television, Ms Rice again ruled out direct talks between Washington and North Korea. "Why are the North Koreans so insistent that there be bilateral talks? "It's because they don't want the pressure of having China and South Korea and Russia and Japan at the table too. "They would like nothing better than to have all of the pressure be on the United States to deliver a deal." The US has suggested there should be a ban on military trade with North Korea and stringent inspections of cargo going into and out of the country. But the Japanese want a complete ban on planes or ships from North Korea crossing their territory.
posted by wnsworld @ 5:06 AM
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