Sanctions Against N. Korea Weighed

(CBS/AP)  The Security Council began weighing a U.S. draft resolution to impose potentially crippling sanctions on North Korea after the secretive communist nation claimed to have set off an atomic explosion, drawing widespread international condemnation including from its closest allies.

The Security Council unanimously condemned North Korea's decision to flout its appeal not to carry out a test and urged Pyongyang to refrain from further nuclear blasts, return to six-party talks and keep its pledge to scrap its clandestine weapons program.

President Bush called the North Korean announcement provocative and unacceptable, though he said Washington is still trying to confirm the test. Nonetheless, Pyongyang's actions "constitutes a threat to international peace and security" and requires "an immediate response" from the Security Council, he said.

Soon after, U.S. Ambassador John Bolton asked the council to adopt a very strong resolution imposing new sanctions against the North aimed at curbing its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, prohibiting all trade in military and luxury goods, and preventing "any abuses of the international financial system" that could contribute to the transfer or development of banned weapons.

The United States circulated a draft resolution late Monday that would condemn the test, demand that North Korea immediately return to six-party talks without precondition, and impose sanctions for Pyongyang's "flagrant disregard" of the council's appeal not to detonate a device. The draft, obtained by the Associated Press, was based on proposals circulated earlier Monday.

Japan's U.N. Ambassador Kenzo Oshima, the current council president, said all council members "emphasized that the response of the council should be strong, swift and very, very clear in its message and its action."

But just how long it will take members to agree on a resolution remains to be seen.

"There are several levels of negotiations still ongoing to get to an agreement on a sanctions resolution regarding North Korea, including meetings of the experts and of the five permanent members of the Security Council, plus Japan, planned for Tuesday," CBS News foreign affairs analyst Pamela Falk reports from the U.N. "But there is consensus that a tough document will emerge because the greater concern is the perception that an international arms race will result if not enough is done."

The Bush administration repeatedly has said it has no plans to invade North Korea and military action appeared unlikely. But the U.S. proposed stringent U.N. sanctions on Monday, including a trade ban on military and luxury items, the power to inspect all cargo entering or leaving the country, and freezing assets connected with Pyongyang's weapons programs, according to a copy of the draft obtained by The Associated Press.

But CBS News national security correspondent David Martin says the U.S. government's response may include a naval blockade of North Korea. Martin said the North doesn't have the capability to launch a nuclear-tipped missile yet, making the primary concern the possibility that Pyongyang might export nuclear material or technology to nations such as Iran or Syria, or to a terrorist group.

North Korea's U.N. ambassador Pak Gil Yon said the Security Council should congratulate his country instead of passing "useless" resolutions or statements.

Iranian state radio, meanwhile, blamed North Korea's reported nuclear test on U.S. pressure, saying the test "was a reaction to America's threats and humiliation."

Iran has said it will not abandon uranium enrichment despite the threat of international sanctions over its disputed nuclear program, which Tehran insists is purely for peaceful purposes.

Mr. Bush said the United States was still attempting to confirm that a nuclear test had actually taken place. Still, he said, "such a claim itself constitutes a threat to international peace and security."

A U.S. government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the political sensitivity of the situation, said the seismic event could have been a nuclear explosion, but its small size was making it difficult for authorities to pin down.

South Korea's National Intelligence Service chief Kim Seung-kyu reportedly told lawmakers signs of suspicious movement were spotted at another suspected test site.

The current members of the nuclear club are the United States, Russia, Britain, France, India, Pakistan and China. Israel is widely believed to have the bomb but has not publicly declared that it does.

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[drgoodwin12]

Let us all pray and demand that the company who has created anti-matter(I beleive it is swedish,to early and not enough time to give you the name)stops all development and destroys all information that can be used to make it.Anti-matter is so powerful that if used as a weapon 1 ounce of it could literally destroy N.Y.City.Second let us get rid of all the ingredients namely uranium by buying or seizing it.No more nuclear power plants that lead to nuclear bombs.

[teo.blu]

NOW is the time to remind Americans that the person who sold nuclear technology to North Koreans is no other than US DEFENSE SECRETARY DONALD RUMSFELD.
DONALD RUMSFELD sat on the board of directors of ABB, European engineering giant based in Zurich, between 1990 to 2001, (earning $190,000 a year) when ABB sold two light water nuclear reactors to North Korea.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/korea/article/0,2763,952289,00.html

Why CBS News never reported this???

[drgoodwin12]

Time for a new policy,that prevents countries or individuals from obtaining the necesarry ingredients to make nuclear bombs.Nuclear energy is not a safe source,to many countries have used that as their premise for obtaining uranium only to make nuclear weapons.N.Korea.Stop the source of ingedients by buying or seizing all of them.Then ecologically destroy all of it.

[drgoodwin12]

To Agnim I agree with you on saying that the other users comments are off base I am being nice,not using the word you used.It took Einsehower to get us out of the Korea war.Truman had started the process and Eisenhower finish it.The reason why I bring this up is that our own military assessment of a conflict with N.Korea or Iran even if we were out of Iraq is bleak.They both have large armies and they both have weapons to counter ours(Iran does not currently have a nuclear weapon).It would be foolish to use military actions,look at their allies some of which proclaim to be ours.Regardess of who is on the ballot in 08 vote for an ex general for president.Powell or Clark for example write them in.The conflict with these two countries will not be resolved before then and it will take an ex general or current to get our country out of this mess along with a congress that will work with them.The republicans have lost Americas trust as reflected in the latest Zogby poll,so it looks like we will have a democratic congress before then,there are enough constituitonal tools at their disposal and at ours to impeach the current president and V.P. and draft a new president perhaps a general.The fault lies in the nuclear proliferation treaty implemantion,it is a failed policy.continued

[agnim]

Hey,tibu987, that "stupid plan" should work equally well with equally stupid warmongers, yes?

Notice that the Koreans are in their OWN space.
Guess who is out of place on the Korean Peninsula?
Guess who should bring the troops home state side?

And your childish attitude about blowing Korea away is what got us deeply into this mess in the first place. Ignorance and arrogance will get us more than a 911 this time.

Have you forgotten 911.
If you think that was a rude awakening for Americans (beside you, touhg guy)then you ain't seen nothing yet.

What we need are intelligent leaders, not cowboys from the wild wild west who are oblivious of their mortality because they are super power-drunk.

[johnsixtysix]

Why do we think we can tell other countries that they can or cannot have nuclear weapons?

Either all of us can have them or none of us can have them.

[thomas_hoag]

Once again, the useless tack of sanctions will push North Korea to the brink as it did Nazi Germany two-thirds of a century ago.

[tibu987]

This situation would be laughable if it weren't so potentially dangerous. This simple man, whose country has suffered for years, has come up with a rather stupid plan to negotiate with the U.S. In either case, he loses. Let him throw his weight around too heavily and the U.S. will blow him and his half of the country away. I don't think that will happen. Interesting though, we will see.

[gladetryst]

Agnim has a good comment down below.

[jw218389]

Clinton had it all worked out with Peace and RECORD PROSPERITY...

But there was cattle rustlers on the horizon...

Next thing ya know GW Bush Texas (Maine?)swaggered into our White House and started swinging the bar doors open and proclaimed that he was a taken them thar Axis of Evils to the a shoot out at the OK Corral.

Course that mean hombre' GW Bush (hardend by his childhood of ropin' & brandin' calfs on the dirt streets of Kennebunkport, Maine) had a score to settle with his cattle rustlin' rival Senior Hussein from "not Texas."

GW moved in with a posse and took out Hussein while he was sleeping behind the chuck wagon and YEE HAW we got ourselves a war.

YEEE HAAAAWWWW!!! A NUKE - YOU - LER War!!

Thanks George W. for your cowboy diplomacy - and for proving Barbara right when she called JEB, "the smart one."