China agrees to draft resolution on N. Korea for nuke test: diplomats

NEW YORK, June 9 (Yonhap) -- China has agreed on a draft resolution on further
sanctioning North Korea for its nuclear test last month, the second in nearly
three years, removing a major obstacle to a deal, diplomatic sources here said
Tuesday.

"China has agreed on a compromise draft resolution presented by the U.S. and the
Western countries," a diplomat said, asking anonymity. "We expect an announcement
on a final agreement will be made soon."
The draft resolution calls for overall arms embargoes and financial sanctions on
North Korea, other sources said, adding the draft will soon be circulated to the
15-member Security Council for a possible vote in the coming days.
The veto-wielding five permanent members of the council, plus South Korea and
Japan, have met several times since the North's May 25 nuclear detonation, but
have failed to narrow differences over the level of sanctions, although they have
agreed on the need to adopt a legally binding resolution against the North.
At issue are cargo inspections. China and Russia want any such inspections to be
made within the framework of existing international law.
It is not clear at the moment what the draft says about the cargo interdictions.
It is illegal to interdict cargo in international waters without the approval of
the country of the flag carried by the vessels.
China has served as the key to effective implementation of any sanctions on North
Korea, which is heavily dependent on its communist neighbor for energy, food and
other necessities. Beijing demanded any sanctions be conducive to coaxing the
reclusive North to return to the multilateral nuclear disarmament talks.
China, North Korea's closest communist ally and its greatest benefactor, along
with Russia thwarted a bid by Washington and its allies to adopt a resolution
after North Korea's April 5 rocket launch. A largely symbolic Security Council
presidential statement was adopted at that time.
To what extent financial sanctions should be imposed has also been another
obstacle, as China demanded any normal and humanitarian financial transactions be
excluded from sanctions.
Washington and its allies have called for strong measures to effectively control
North Korea's money supply to develop nuclear weapons and missiles.
U.S. officials have also said Washington will consider pursuing its own financial
sanctions against North Korea aside from those being discussed at the U.N.
Washington slapped financial sanctions on a Macau bank in 2005 to freeze US$25
million worth of North Korean assets, effectively cutting off Pyongyang's access
to the international financial system. Banco Delta Asia had been accused of
helping North Korea launder money from circulating sophisticated counterfeit
US$100 bills called "supernotes."
Reports said that the U.S. recently found that North Korea circulated about US$1
million worth of supernotes at a South Korean port late last year.
It is not clear whether the sanctions will deter the North from further
provocations, with some saying Pyongyang will return to the negotiating table
either bilaterally with the U.S. or multilaterally, while others voice pessimism
about Pyongyang's willingness to abandon its nuclear arsenal.
North Korea's recent provocations, including nuclear and missile tests, are
widely seen as an attempt by ailing North Korean leader Kim Jong-il to help his
third and youngest son, Jong-un, consolidate power in an unprecedented third
generation dynastic power transfer in the reclusive communist state.
hdh@yna.co.kr
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