War: UN: UN's Security Council unanimously calls North Korea on its nukes & missiles

.
UN SC voted unanimously today (Sat, Jul 15,2k6) "to impose limited sanctions on North Korea for its recent missile tests and demanded that the reclusive communist nation suspend its ballistic missile program," according to a breaking news alert from CNN (click the blog-entry title above).

The resolution bans all U.N. member states from selling material or technology for missiles or weapons of mass destruction to North Korea -- and it bans all countries from receiving missiles, banned weapons or technology from Pyongyang.

It condemns North Korea's multiple missile launches on July 5 and demands that North Korea "suspend all activities related to its ballistic missile program" and re-establish a moratorium on missile launching. It also strongly urges North Korea to return to six-party talks on its nuclear program, which have been stalled since last September.

North Korea's U.N. Ambassador Pak Gil Yon, who was in the Security Council chamber for the vote, spoke afterward and accused the council of trying to isolate his country, known officially as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

However, the unanimous resolution was not the one for which Japan had asked. Japan wanted a full-sanctions regimen under the UN's Chapter 7. I would favour that move. As it is, the non-Chapter 7 action, however unanimous, just may not prove satisfactory to that country which is most in Pyongyang's line of fire. This development may mean that Japan feels it necessary to take unilateral military action against rejectionist North Korea, to remove the nuclear and missile launch-stations.

China's Ambassador Wang Guangya said his country, the North's closest ally, adopted "a responsible attitude" in opposing a Chapter 7 resolution, which would "further complicate and aggravate the situation.

Russia's Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said the resolution sends "an appropriate signal" to North Korea "on the need to display restraint and to abide by its obligations regarding missiles, and at the same time it should work in favor of continuing the negotiating process in the interest of strengthening security and stability in the region."

FoxNews also sent out an alert to its newsletter for breaking news (refWrite subscribes to both).Online, AP via Fox reported the response of North Korea's UN Ambassador, Pak Gil Yon (the first name is the surname in Korean):

Pak warned that North Korea will "take stronger physical actions of other forms should any other country dare take issue with the exercises and put pressure on it."

At the end of his speech, he immediately left the council chamber in a move considered a breach of diplomatic protocol.

Agreement on the resolution culminated 10 days of difficult negotiations and was reached after a last-minute compromise between Japan, the United States and Britain — who wanted a tough statement — and Russia and China, who favored weaker language.

In the final negotiations, the council was divided on one issue: If the resolution should be adopted under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter, which allows for the use of military force to make sure the resolution is obeyed.

China had threatened to veto any resolution that mentioned Chapter 7 and in the final compromise proposed by Britain, with support from France and China, it was dropped.

The resolution adopted Saturday by a 15-0 vote states that the Security Council was "acting under its special responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security."

As the world turns -- PermRes