Russia And China Raise Objections To NK Sanctions
At the least moment, Russia and China have raised some objections to the resolution placing sanctions on North Korea. US ambassador to the UN John Bolton says that the objections are technical and a vote may still be possible today.
The five permanent council members — the U.S., Russia, China, Britain and France — and Japan were to meet in the morning before the full 15-member council convenes to discuss the changes.
"I'm still ready to go for a vote, and we'll just have to see what the instructions are overnight, in particular from Moscow and China," Bolton said late Friday.
The latest draft demands North Korea eliminate all its nuclear weapons but expressly rules out military action against the country, a demand by the Russians and Chinese. The Americans also eliminated a complete ban on the sale of conventional weapons; instead, the draft limits the embargo to major hardware such as tanks, warships, combat aircraft and missiles.
But the resolution would still ban the import or export of material and equipment that could be used to make nuclear weapons or ballistic missiles, and would authorize all countries to inspect cargo leaving and arriving in North Korea to prevent any illegal trafficking.
In another key change to gain Chinese and Russian support, the resolution now says local authorities will cooperate in the inspection process, which covers shipments by land, air and sea. Both China and Russia share borders with North Korea and are uncomfortable with the possibility of the U.S. interdicting ships near their coasts. Bolton said he expected most actions would be performed at ports.
The accord came as U.S. officials said Friday that an air sampling after North Korea's claimed nuclear test detected radioactive debris consistent with an atomic explosion. However, the Bush administration and congressional officials said no final determination had been made about the nature of Monday's mystery-shrouded blast.
Results from another test disclosed Friday — an initial air sampling on Tuesday — showed no evidence of radioactive particles that would be expected from a successful nuclear detonation, a U.S. government intelligence official said.
The concessions already made in the resolution make the sanctions largely toothless to begin with. This latest round of objections will likely weaken them still more. Iran is watching and laughing. It knows how far it can go now.
All the way.
North Korea | Gaius October 14, 2006
