U.N. nearing deal for N. Korea sanctions

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TweetUNITED NATIONS - Key U.N. Security Council members moved closer to agreement late Thursday on a U.S.-proposed resolution that would impose weapons and economics sanctions but rule out use of force against North Korea over its purported nuclear test.



Tougher earlier versions of the resolution met opposition from Russia and China, who wanted a more moderate response to Pyongyang's nuclear brinkmanship in hopes the reclusive communist nation would return to disarmament talks.

Both countries wanted to focus on reining in the North's weapons programs and China wanted to ensure that nothing in the draft could trigger military action.

A new U.S. draft circulated Thursday night tries to satisfy both the United States and China on the scope of sanctions. It also eliminates a blanket arms embargo in the previous text, instead targeting specific equipment for sanctions including missiles, tanks, warships and combat aircraft.

The United States reported significant progress in bridging differences with Russia and China after more than two hours of negotiations among ambassadors from the five permanent council nations — the U.S., Russia, China, Britain and France — and Japan's ambassador who is the current council president.

The U.S. said it hoped a vote could be held on Friday though Japan said Saturday was more likely.

"We have made very substantial progress," U.S. Ambassador John Bolton told reporters after the meeting.

The revised resolution was sent to capitals Thursday night so ministers can examine the latest changes. Bolton said the full Security Council is meeting Friday morning.

China's U.N. Ambassador Wang Guangya agreed that "good progress has been made" in improving the text. Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said there had been "a number of improvements" and, importantly, council unity "is in good shape."

Separately, the Japanese government decided Friday to close the country's ports to North Korean ships and ban trade with the communist state. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet approved the sanctions, which also include a six-month ban on travel to Japan by all North Korean government officials.

The strong response came even though North Korea's claim to have detonated a nuclear explosion Monday has not yet been confirmed, and despite warnings from the North that it would take strong "countermeasures" if Japan went ahead with the new sanctions.

Because Japan's trade with North Korea is limited, Abe faced little domestic opposition to cutting it off. Tokyo already had limited sanctions in place against North Korea, imposed after the North test-fired seven missiles into waters between Japan and the Korean Peninsula in July.

The new U.S. draft expresses "profound concern" at North Korea's claim to have tested a nuclear device and says it represents "a clear threat to international peace and security." But it makes clear the Security Council would have to adopt a new resolution "should additional measures be necessary" against North Korea, such as military action.

The major compromise, which appears to have satisfied both China and the United States, was on sanctions.

The United States insisted the resolution fall under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter — which authorizes punishments ranging from breaking diplomatic ties and imposing economic sanctions to naval blockades and military actions — because of the gravity of North Korea's action.

China only wanted measures under Article 41 of Chapter 7, which authorizes non-military sanctions such as economic penalties, breaking diplomatic relations and banning air travel.

The new draft states that the Security Council would act under Chapter 7 and only take measures under Article 41.

The U.S. proposal eliminates the blanket arms embargo and would instead impose sanctions on specific equipment including tanks, combat aircraft, warships and missiles.

It keeps the requirement that all countries prevent the sale or transfer of luxury goods and material and technology which could contribute to North Korea's nuclear, ballistic missile or other weapons of mass destruction-related programs.

Like the previous draft, the new draft would condemn the nuclear test and demand that North Korea immediately return to nuclear talks without preconditions. It would also demand that North Korea "not conduct any further nuclear test or launch of a ballistic missile."

Beijing and Moscow objected to the wide scope of financial sanctions and a provision authorizing the inspection of cargo going in and out of North Korea, council diplomats said, speaking on condition of anonymity because talks are private.

There is concern among some diplomats that boarding North Korean ships could lead to a military response from the North.

The latest draft keeps the financial freeze on individuals and entities with any connection to North Korea's weapons or missile programs as well as a travel ban on those associated with the programs. But it changes the focus of the provision on inspections.

In the previous draft, all countries were authorized to inspect cargo to and from North Korea, "as necessary," to ensure compliance with the sanctions and to prevent illicit trafficking.

In the new draft, all countries are authorized to take "cooperative action including through inspection of cargo ... in particular to prevent illicit trafficking in nuclear, chemical or biological weapons, their means of delivery and related materials."

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TweetNorth Korea Calls U.N. Sanctions for Nuclear Test 'Declaration of War'

Tuesday , October 17, 2006




SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea blasted U.N. sanctions Tuesday aimed at punishing the country for its atomic test, saying the measures were a declaration of war and that the nation wouldn't yield to such pressure now that it's a nuclear weapons power.

The warning — the central government's first response to the U.N. measures approved last weekend — came as the U.S. nuclear envoy began his visit to South Korea by saying Pyongyang should pay a high price for its reckless behavior.

The North broke two days of silence about the U.N. resolution adopted after its Oct. 9 nuclear test, issuing a Foreign Ministry statement on its official Korean Central News Agency.

"The resolution cannot be construed otherwise than a declaration of a war" against the North, also known as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the statement said.

The North warned it "wants peace but is not afraid of war" and that it would "deal merciless blows" against anyone who violated its sovereignty.

CountryWatch:North Korea | South Korea

The communist nation "had remained unfazed in any storm and stress in the past when it had no nuclear weapons," the statement said. "It is quite nonsensical to expect the DPRK to yield to the pressure and threat of someone at this time when it has become a nuclear weapons state."

The statement came as the U.S. pressed forward with a round of diplomacy in Asia aimed at finding consensus on how to implement U.N. sanctions on the North. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was expected to arrive in Japan on Wednesday before traveling to South Korea and China.

After arriving in Seoul on Tuesday, the U.S. nuclear envoy, Assistant U.S. Secretary of State Christopher Hill, said he couldn't confirm media reports that the North may be preparing for another test explosion.

But Hill stressed that the international community should make the North pay a "high price" for its "reckless behavior."

"We need to work very hard with our partners and allies to implement the U.N. Security Council resolution," Hill said upon arriving in Seoul.

China, whose support for the measures is key to whether they will have any impact on neighboring North Korea, has begun examining trucks at the North Korean border to comply with new U.N. sanctions endorsed over the weekend.

But China's U.N. ambassador, Wang Guangya, said on Monday in New York that his country's inspectors would not board ships to search for suspicious equipment or material.

Beijing's mixed response on implementing the sanctions, approved Saturday by a unanimous U.N. Security Council including China, demonstrates the difficulties U.S. diplomats will encounter as they tour the region.

In Tokyo, the Japanese government said Tuesday it has "information" concerning media reports that North Korea could be preparing for a second nuclear test.

"We have information but I cannot speak about its contents," Foreign Minister Taro Aso told reporters, without elaborating.

A South Korean government official in Seoul said his government also was aware of signs that indicated North Korea could be preparing for another nuclear test. The official said intelligence reports were coming in about a possible test, but that it was unclear how reliable they were.

Seoul Korea already has taken measures to be more vigilant for a possible second nuclear test by North Korea, and was bolstering exchanges of intelligence with the United States, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information.

Hill, the U.S. nuclear envoy, planned to meet his South Korean counterpart, Chun Yung-woo, and the two were to hold a three-way meeting with their Russian counterpart, Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Alexeyev, who has been in Seoul since Sunday.

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov was also due in Seoul for talks with his South Korean counterpart. North Korea was expected to top their agenda.

South Korea has said it would fully comply with the U.N. sanctions resolution, but also has been cautious about allowing sanctions to shake regional stability. Seoul has also indicated that it has no intention of halting key economic projects with the North, despite concerns that they may help fund the North's nuclear and missile programs.

"Sanctions against North Korea should be done in a way that draws North Korea to the dialogue table," South Korean Prime Minister Han Myung-sook said Tuesday ahead of her meeting with Fradkov, according to Yonhap news agency. "There should never be a way that causes armed clashes."

In Washington, U.S. National Intelligence Director John Negroponte's office said Monday that air samples gathered last week contain radioactive materials that confirm that North Korea conducted an underground nuclear explosion.

In a short statement posted on its Web site, Negroponte's office also confirmed that the size of the explosion was less than 1 kiloton, a comparatively small nuclear detonation. Each kiloton is equal to the force produced by 1,000 tons of TNT.

It was the first official confirmation from the United States that a nuclear detonation took place, as Pyongyang has claimed.