US urges China action on N Korea
By Lucy Harvey,WNS New York Correspondent
UNITED NATIONS - The US is urging China to fully implement United Nations sanctions imposed on North Korea following its nuclear test last week. US envoy John Bolton said that China had an obligation to comply with Resolution 1718, passed unanimously by the Security Council on Saturday. The sanctions include a raft of measures targeting North Korea's weapons and missile programmes. But there are still reservations on the Chinese side over cargo inspections.
The resolution - which also targets luxury goods and imposes a travel ban on some North Korean officials - was reached after lengthy negotiations. It allows the inspection of cargo vessels going in and out of North Korea for banned materials, something that worries China. Its UN envoy, Wang Guangya, said immediately after the vote that China urged countries to "refrain from taking any provocative steps that may intensify the tension". Both Russia and China are concerned that inspections could spark naval confrontations with North Korean boats.
Mr Bolton told American television that China had voted for the sanctions and had an obligation to enforce them. "China's got heavy responsibility here," he said. North Korea's test "had to be humiliating to China... and I think we are still seeing that play out," he said. He said that most of the planned cargo inspections would take place at ports and land crossings and said that the UN was not proposing a sea blockade of North Korea. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, meanwhile, said she was certain China would "live up to its responsibilities" under the resolution. "I understand that people are concerned about how it might work so it doesn't enhance tensions in the region, and we're perfectly willing to have those conversations," she said. Ms Rice is due to travel to the region later in the week for talks with North Korea's neighbours.
posted by wnsworld @ 9:15 PM
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