SANCTIONS! The UNSC Acts

Bryan is on it. So is Captain Ed, and Pajamas Media is in on the act, too. The United Nations Security Council agreed unanimously to impose sanctions on North Korea:

The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously on Saturday to impose punishing sanctions on North Korea for carrying out a nuclear test, declaring that its action posed "a clear threat to international peace and security."

North Korea immediately rejected the resolution, and its U.N. ambassador walked out of the council chamber after accusing its members of a "gangster-like" action which neglects the nuclear threat posed by the United States.

"The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is ready for talks, dialogue and confrontation," Ambassador Pak Gil Yon said. "If the United States increases pressure upon the Democratic People's Republic of Korea persistently, the DPRK will continue to take physical countermeasures considering it as a declaration of war."

The vote came after the United States, Britain and France overcame last-minute differences with Russia and China during what the Russian ambassador called "tense negotiations."

The resolution demands North Korea eliminate all its nuclear weapons but expressly rules out military action against the country, a demand by the Russians and Chinese. U.S. Ambassador John Bolton warned Pyongyang, however, that if it continues pursuing nuclear weapons, the United States would seek further measures.

The Security Council condemned the nuclear test that North Korea said it conducted on Oct 9. It demanded that North Korea immediately return to six-party talks aimed at persuading Pyongyang to dismantle its weapons program without precondition.

It imposed sanctions for the North's "flagrant disregard" of the council's appeal not to detonate a nuclear device and demanded that North Korea "not conduct any further nuclear test or launch of a ballistic missile."

The resolution bans the import or export of material and equipment that could be used to make nuclear weapons or ballistic missiles. It orders all countries to freeze the assets and ban travel for anyone engaged in supporting North Korea's weapons programs.

All right, let us see what North Korea's response will be. We see what their response on the floor of the Council chmabers was. It was defiant and threatening and petulant. Precisely what we have come to expect out of the North Koreans. Seriously, after seeing the details of the sanctions, China's ambassador is quite correct. these are watered down. But in diplomacy, every little step counts.

However, I question what will come next if North Korea tells the world to pound sand? What "further measures" is Ambassador Bolton referring to? Will he be able to get China and Russia to agree to tighter restrictions on trade and travel? On weapons they can possess? And are the Russians and the Chinese ready to join the rest of the world in disarming Kim Jong-Il if that is the final step that must be taken? And, of course, what sort of serious timetable are we talking about? Will there be further sanctions called for when the first breach is committed by North Korea.

Let us admit that this is hardly the time to screw around with North Korea. The above report goes on to state that the US government did detect radiation emissions from the detonation site from the North Korean test. However, they say these results still are not conclusive enough to know for sure. The White House has stated, and the IAEA agrees, it will still be a few days before any definitive data can be extrapolated. If this is correct, it was a nuclear test, and a poor one at that. But that does not mean that he is not dangerous. He has the ability to make a nuclear weapon. That is more than enough for me. I would not like to see him make a larger warhead, or figure out how to screw one on the end of a long-range ballistic missile.

So, to our readers, we ask a simply question:

What are you prepared to do?

If North Korea blows this off, and blows another up, what is the world prepared to do? Inquiring minds want to know, because those minds are seeing a repeat of history again. Without a serious threat to back up the sanctions, Kim Jong-Il is going to play games with the United Nations. And this time around, we do not have twelve years to play this game of chess.

Marcie