North Korea feels heat from world

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| Tuesday, October 10, 2006 6:52 AM CDT | () comments

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS South Korean Army soldiers patrol near the demilitarized zone of Panmunjom, South Korea. South Korea’s Defense Ministry said the alert level of the military was raised in response to Monday’s claimed nuclear test by North Korea.

Times wire services

The White House pushed Monday for aggressive sanctions on North Korea, including measures to limit trade in military and luxury items.

Russia, South Korea, Japan and — significantly — China, North Korea’s closest ally, joined the United States in condemning North Korea’s reported nuclear test, giving hope to the Bush administration that it might unify the international community.

U.S. officials acknowledged uncertainty, however, about whether this would translate into strict U.N. sanctions given China’s traditional reluctance to lean heavily on its ally.

The U.N. Security Council was weighing a draft submitted by the United States that would impose a ban on selling luxury and military goods to North Korea and would mandate the inspection of all cargo being shipped into and out of the country, among other steps.

The proposed actions would take place under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter, which authorizes severe measures, including military action, against states judged to be threats to international peace and stability.

It was unclear how quickly the Security Council may move to adopt the sanctions resolution, which would represent a bold new diplomatic step in what has been a long and futile effort to halt North Korea’s 20-year march toward obtaining nuclear weapons.

China, which can veto any Security Council action, has been unwilling to act against North Korea, in part because it fears the regime in Pyongyang might collapse, sending tens of thousands of refugees over the border into China, analysts said.

U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., the majority whip, said he hopes China might be encouraged to sign on to a tough sanctions plan against North Korea, noting the Chinese foreign ministry statement that Pyongyang “defied the universal opposition of international society and flagrantly conducted the nuclear test.”

“For China, that’s a pretty tough language,” he said, echoing a statement voiced privately by Bush administration officials.

There were questions about the strength and success of the North Korea explosion, White House officials, lawmakers and outside experts agreed that the action added a volatile new ingredient to an already dangerous world environment.

President Bush, acknowledging that he could not confirm that a nuclear test occurred, said the North Korean claim was nonetheless a “provocative act,” and said he is “committed to diplomacy” to solve the crisis. Noting that North Korea has transferred missile technology to Iran and Syria, Bush also seemed to draw a sharp line that he warned the Koreans not to cross.

“The transfer of nuclear weapons or material by North Korea to states or non-state entities would be considered a grave threat to the United States, and we would hold North Korea fully accountable of the consequences of such action,” Bush said.

Diplomats normally reserve such language for acts of war warranting a military response.

However, with U.S. forces strapped by the twin wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Bush administration repeatedly has said it has no plans to invade North Korea and discussion of military action was absent on Monday.

If North Korea’s claim is correct, it would vault the country into a select group of nuclear powers, including the United States, Russia, France, Germany, China, Pakistan and India. In addition, Israel is widely believed to have nuclear weapons.

U.S. Rep. Jim Leach, R-Iowa, the chairman of the Asia subcommittee in the House, said North Korea’s action could prod Japan to join the club.

Japan and South Korea are believed to have a “break-out” capability to build nuclear weapons quickly. Both countries have robust civilian nuclear power facilities and the scientific and technical know-how to assemble bombs, analysts said.

Some analysts believe either country could possess nuclear weapons in a matter of months.

Japan is the only nation to sustain a nuclear attack. About 214,000 people died from the U.S. bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Leach also said North Korea’s test could encourage Iran to harden its stand in negotiations over its reported nuclear program and make it difficult to stop North Korea from marketing weapons to “undesirable parties.”

Even searching ships for nuclear material could be ineffective, intelligence analysts believe. The nuclear core of a bomb can be as small as a grapefruit, experts said, and emit very little telltale radioactivity.

Only three countries are known to have given up nuclear weapons programs — South Africa, Brazil and Libya. None admitted taking the step of testing a nuclear weapon, although there were reports that the apartheid South African regime exploded a device with the help of Israel in the late 1970s.