UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations Security Council is expected to vote today on a resolution sanctioning North Korea for its claimed nuclear test, after the five permanent members of the council and Japan agreed a text yesterday.
Japan's UN ambassador, Kenzo Oshima, the current council president, and US ambassador John Bolton, who introduced the resolution, announced the agreement after a brief council meeting to discuss the latest draft.
"There may be some additional changes to the text but we do have unanimous agreement," Mr Bolton said.
The resolution would ban any transfer or development of weapons of mass destruction and prohibit the sale of luxury goods to North Korea as well as freezing foreign funds of people or businesses connected with Pyongyang's nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.
Following pressure from Russia and China, however, the resolution only imposes non-military sanctions against North Korea and clearly states that any further action would require another UN resolution. The US also dropped a proposal for a blanket arms embargo and the resolution instead targets specific equipment for sanctions, including missiles, tanks, warships and combat aircraft. In a nod to China and Russia's concerns, the resolution specifies that measures are to be taken under article 41 of chapter seven of the UN charter - which relates to only non-military actions. The US, Britain and France wanted a chapter seven resolution, which can be used to deploy troops, allowing them to use force to fulfil their mandate.
Article 41 says the council may decide "what measures not involving the use of armed forces are to be employed to give effect to its decisions and to call upon the members of the UN to apply such measures".
China was still resisting language in the resolution that Beijing believes would authorise countries to stop and search North Korean ships but Mr Bolton said the measure did not mandate interdictions.
"It's not the intention of the United States to have inspection of every ship. We are going to look where we think there's weapons of mass destruction or other related cargo in it and that sort of thing. It's very clear that it be consistent with national authority and international law," he said.
Mr Bolton said the ban on luxury goods would not affect the North Korean population but could have an impact on the North Korean leader and his senior officials.
"I think the North Korean population has been losing average height and weight over the years and maybe this will be a little diet for Kim Jong Il," Mr Bolton said.
The deal came as US and Chinese officials said that air sampling after this week's North Korean test produced no evidence of the radioactive particles usually produced by a large nuclear explosion. US officials said the lack of radiation did not necessarily mean that the nuclear test failed and President George Bush has insisted that Pyongyang's claim to have tested a nuclear weapon was itself a provocative act.