Deal closer on N Korea sanctions
By Huang Zhi Xuan,WNS Northeast Asia Bureau Chief
BEIJING - World powers are edging closer to agreeing sanctions against North Korea following its claimed nuclear test. The US has revised a draft UN Security Council resolution to remove the threat of imminent military action in a bid to allay Chinese and Russian concerns. In Beijing, the Chinese and South Korean leaders agreed the UN must take "necessary and appropriate" action. A UN vote is expected on Saturday. Japan's cabinet has confirmed it is imposing unilateral sanctions. The Japanese measures, first announced on Wednesday, include trade and travel bans, barring North Korean ships from Japan's ports, and freezing imports and visits by North Korean officials.
Pyongyang has promised "strong countermeasures" against any sanctions. North Korean vessels deliver crabs, clams or prized matsutake mushrooms to Japan, then return home filled with used bicycles, used cars, motorcycles or old household appliances - items which can be sold in the impoverished North. North Korean ships are currently loading up in Japanese ports ahead of a Friday midnight (1500 GMT) deadline.
The new US draft resolution restricts sanctions to non-military actions, limits arms sanctions to heavy weapons only, but retains a controversial provision allowing nations to inspect cargo moving in and out of North Korea in pursuit of unconventional weapons. The resolution urges North Korea to implement a September 2005 agreement in which it pledged to give up its nuclear programme in exchange for aid and security guarantees. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is reported to be planning to tour China, Japan and South Korea next week in an attempt to galvanise support for a strong stance against Pyongyang.
posted by wnsworld @ 7:11 PM
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