VARIOUS: World powers move closer to sanctions on North Korea

In the port of Maezuru, near the ancient Japanese capital of Kyoto, 11 North Korean ships are loading their final cargoes of second-hand products after Japan formally approved sanctions against North Korea on Friday (October 13). Japan's sanctions include a six-month ban on all imports from the impoverished communist state and came in response to Pyongyang's announcement of a nuclear test this week. North Korea has threatened to retaliate if Japan goes ahead with the measures, which were decided by its top security panel on Wednesday (October 11) and are largely symbolic given the lack of strong economic ties between the two countries. The steps, which include blocking all North Korean ships from entering Japanese ports, add to sanctions Tokyo already imposed following North Korea's firing of a salvo of missiles in July. North Korean nationals except those living in Japan are also banned from entering the country. There were 22 North Korean ships in Japanese ports as of Thursday (October 12), according to Japanese media. The ships carry various second hand cargo from Japan including bicycles, refrigerators and other household goods. They are expected to leave Japanese ports by midnight Friday. "It is the government's responsibility to ensure the peace and safety of the country and its people, and we will firmly do what is needed for that," Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki told a news conference after Song Il-ho, North Korea's ambassador in charge of diplomatic normalisation talks with Japan, was quoted as saying Pyongyang would take "strong countermeasures" against Japan if it went ahead with sanctions. In South Korea, demonstrators burned North Korean flags in front of City Hall in Seoul where about 2,000 people gathered and chanted anti-North Korean slogans. A photo of former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in 2000 was also burned. The unprecedented summit was meant to warm ties between the two nations and it helped kick off South Korea's engagement policy, known as the Sunshine Policy, toward the North to extend economic and social cooperation between the two Koreas. As the U.N. Security Council neared agreement on steps hitting North Korea's nuclear and missile programmes with economic and weapons sanctions and a ban on luxury goods, South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun held talks in Beijing with Chinese leaders. China and South Korea have more sway over Pyongyang than any other countries, but the North's announcement on Monday (October 9) that it had conducted a nuclear test has shaken their policies of political and economic engagement. China and Russia, which both hold veto power on the Security Council, balked at some of the tough measures in an early draft resolution. Russia's ambassador, Vitaly Churkin, indicated that the Council could take a few more days to bring about a "united response." "I think 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 (unclear) and united response to the challenge we face from this explosion in North Korea," Churkin said. U.S. Ambassador John Bolton formally introduced the new draft resolution to U.N. Security Council on Thursday in hopes of securing a vote on Friday, but said he was open to further discussion and changes. "It's still our hope and expectation that we can have a vote by the end of the week, subsequent to the Security Council meeting, I had a bilateral meeting with ambassador Wang, a very good meeting and we covered basically the entire scope of the resolution," said Bolton. Diplomats said the fate of the new draft largely depends on Beijing, which was unusually critical of North Korea after the nuclear test, but which is also anxious to avoid driving North, with its 1.2 million-strong army, further into a corner. China's ambassador to the U.N., Wang Guangya, said Pyongyang's action was "irresponsible" but he believed the Council was working together to send a clear message with a unified voice. "I think there are common objectives unifying all council members, that we should send a strong, clear message but there are some differences, in which way the language would be effective, especially in terms of providing more room for providing diplomatic efforts that might put an end to the crisis that we face," he said. The United States, Japan, Britain and France want the measure adopted under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter, which allows for sanctions and even military force -- if the council authorises a specific action. The resolution would impose an arms embargo, a ban on any transfer or development of weapons of mass destruction as well as a ban on the sale of luxury goods to North Korea. It would freeze funds overseas of people or businesses connected with North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programs. Both China and Russia have cast doubt on chances for a quick vote but the draft could be voted on as early as Saturday (October 14).

ITN Source | October 13, 2006

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