.Russia, China Oppose N. Korea Sanctions
UNITED NATIONS (AP) - Russia and China on Thursday opposed tough sanctions the U.S. wants to impose against North Korea this week for its claimed nuclear test, saying they want more time to work out a more moderate response to Pyongyang's nuclear brinkmanship.
The United States and Japan, which has already imposed tough unilateral sanctions on the North to protest the reported test Monday, had initially hoped for a U.N. Security Council vote on Thursday. But if Washington wants to get China and Russia - the two council nations closest to Pyongyang - on board, a vote could be delayed until early next week.
China, the North's closest ally, opposes any mention of the U.N. Charter's Chapter 7, which authorizes punishments including economic sanctions, naval blockades and military actions. China and Russia want to see sanctions focus primarily on reining in North Korea's nuclear and weapons programs.
Beijing and Moscow also object 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 U.S. circulated a revised draft resolution late Wednesday, formally introduced it in the Security Council on Thursday and said it would be put in a final form that can be put to a vote on Friday. Britain, France, Japan and Slovakia signed on as co-sponsors.
"We're certainly in favor of keeping all the diplomatic channels open, but we also want swift action, and we shouldn't allow meetings, and more meetings ... to be an excuse for inaction," U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said.
But Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said the U.S. should wait for the results of more diplomacy. China's U.N. Ambassador Wang Guangya agreed, saying Beijing would welcome more talks so the Security Council can send a united and forceful message to Pyongyang condemning its reported test Monday.
Churkin said "the international community will easily understand if on the matter of this gravity and importance, the Security Council will take a few more days to have a reasoned and united response to the challenge we face from this explosion in North Korea."
"We think that there should be a strong reaction, but it has to be a cool-headed reaction," he said.
Without naming the United States, Churkin appeared to take aim at the tough U.S. policy toward Pyongyang and President Bush's inclusion of North Korea in the so-called "axis of evil."
"This resolution would be a very strong statement from the Security Council," Churkin said. "And we know that in this problem, in this part of the world, some strong statements made by others than the Security Council have hurt the entire thing - and have aggravated matters. So we do not want to repeat this on the level of the Security Council."
He said a high-level Chinese representative was en route to Moscow for talks on Friday and Saturday, and Russia's deputy foreign minister was in northeast Asia talking to the countries most affected by North Korea's announcement.
A special envoy of Chinese President Hu Jintao met with Bush and top U.S. officials in Washington on Thursday, and South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun was due in Beijing on Friday for talks with China's top leaders, he said.
The latest draft would condemn the claimed nuclear test, demand that North Korea immediately return to six-party talks on its nuclear program without precondition, and impose sanctions for Pyongyang's "flagrant disregard" of the council's appeal. It adds new words demanding that North Korea "not conduct any further nuclear test or launch of a ballistic missile."
The new draft remains under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter. Bush has said the United States has no intention of attacking North Korea and Bolton stressed that any military action would require another resolution.
The revised U.S. draft would require all countries to prevent the sale or transfer of arms, luxury goods, and material and technology which could contribute to North Korea's nuclear, ballistic missile or other weapons of mass destruction-related programs.
The new draft would also impose a travel ban on people supporting North Korea's nuclear, ballistic missile and other weapons-related programs - a Japanese proposal.
The previous U.S. draft called on all states to undertake and facilitate inspection of cargo to and from North Korea to ensure compliance with sanctions. The new draft would allow states to inspect cargo "as necessary" to ensure compliance and to prevent illegal trafficking.
In 2002, a ship carrying a dozen Scud-type missiles believed to originate in North Korea was intercepted in the Arabian Sea. U.S. officials said the missiles were at least initially headed for Yemen.
The latest U.S. proposal would still require countries to freeze all assets related to North Korea's weapons and missile programs, but a call to prevent "any abuses of the international financial system" that could contribute to the transfer or development of banned weapons was dropped.
MyWay
Land for salec
The United States and Japan, which has already imposed tough unilateral sanctions on the North to protest the reported test Monday, had initially hoped for a U.N. Security Council vote on Thursday. But if Washington wants to get China and Russia - the two council nations closest to Pyongyang - on board, a vote could be delayed until early next week.
China, the North's closest ally, opposes any mention of the U.N. Charter's Chapter 7, which authorizes punishments including economic sanctions, naval blockades and military actions. China and Russia want to see sanctions focus primarily on reining in North Korea's nuclear and weapons programs.
Beijing and Moscow also object 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 U.S. circulated a revised draft resolution late Wednesday, formally introduced it in the Security Council on Thursday and said it would be put in a final form that can be put to a vote on Friday. Britain, France, Japan and Slovakia signed on as co-sponsors.
"We're certainly in favor of keeping all the diplomatic channels open, but we also want swift action, and we shouldn't allow meetings, and more meetings ... to be an excuse for inaction," U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said.
But Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said the U.S. should wait for the results of more diplomacy. China's U.N. Ambassador Wang Guangya agreed, saying Beijing would welcome more talks so the Security Council can send a united and forceful message to Pyongyang condemning its reported test Monday.
Churkin said "the international community will easily understand if on the matter of this gravity and importance, the Security Council will take a few more days to have a reasoned and united response to the challenge we face from this explosion in North Korea."
"We think that there should be a strong reaction, but it has to be a cool-headed reaction," he said.
Without naming the United States, Churkin appeared to take aim at the tough U.S. policy toward Pyongyang and President Bush's inclusion of North Korea in the so-called "axis of evil."
"This resolution would be a very strong statement from the Security Council," Churkin said. "And we know that in this problem, in this part of the world, some strong statements made by others than the Security Council have hurt the entire thing - and have aggravated matters. So we do not want to repeat this on the level of the Security Council."
He said a high-level Chinese representative was en route to Moscow for talks on Friday and Saturday, and Russia's deputy foreign minister was in northeast Asia talking to the countries most affected by North Korea's announcement.
A special envoy of Chinese President Hu Jintao met with Bush and top U.S. officials in Washington on Thursday, and South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun was due in Beijing on Friday for talks with China's top leaders, he said.
The latest draft would condemn the claimed nuclear test, demand that North Korea immediately return to six-party talks on its nuclear program without precondition, and impose sanctions for Pyongyang's "flagrant disregard" of the council's appeal. It adds new words demanding that North Korea "not conduct any further nuclear test or launch of a ballistic missile."
The new draft remains under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter. Bush has said the United States has no intention of attacking North Korea and Bolton stressed that any military action would require another resolution.
The revised U.S. draft would require all countries to prevent the sale or transfer of arms, luxury goods, and material and technology which could contribute to North Korea's nuclear, ballistic missile or other weapons of mass destruction-related programs.
The new draft would also impose a travel ban on people supporting North Korea's nuclear, ballistic missile and other weapons-related programs - a Japanese proposal.
The previous U.S. draft called on all states to undertake and facilitate inspection of cargo to and from North Korea to ensure compliance with sanctions. The new draft would allow states to inspect cargo "as necessary" to ensure compliance and to prevent illegal trafficking.
In 2002, a ship carrying a dozen Scud-type missiles believed to originate in North Korea was intercepted in the Arabian Sea. U.S. officials said the missiles were at least initially headed for Yemen.
The latest U.S. proposal would still require countries to freeze all assets related to North Korea's weapons and missile programs, but a call to prevent "any abuses of the international financial system" that could contribute to the transfer or development of banned weapons was dropped.
MyWay
Land for salec
posted by madtom at 8:24 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home