US draft resolution on North Korea adds travel ban

The US has circulated a new draft UN resolution on North Korea that adds a travel ban but softens language on cargo inspections and financial sanctions to try to get Russian and Chinese support.

The draft does not include Japanese demands to prohibit North Korean ships from entering any port or North Korean aircraft from taking off or landing in any country.

These sanctions proposed by Tokyo are tougher than those sought by Washington and would probably face strong Russian and Chinese opposition.

The US hopes to pass a new Security Council resolution tomorrow to punish North Korea for its claimed nuclear test in defiance of council appeals not to detonate a device, US Ambassador John Bolton said.

Like the original draft circulated on Monday, the new draft 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.

It adds new words demanding that North Korea “not conduct any further nuclear test or launch of a ballistic missile”.

It also would encourage all concerned countries “to intensify their diplomatic efforts to facilitate the early resumption of the six-party talks, with a view to achieving the verifiable denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula and to maintaining peace and stability in the Korean peninsula and in north-east Asia”.

Similar to the previous draft, the latest draft determines that the situation in North Korea, and in particular the nuclear test claimed by the North, “constitutes a clear threat to international peace and security”.

The new draft remains under chapter seven of the UN Charter, which includes a range of measures to deal with threats to international peace and conflicts from breaking diplomatic relations to imposing naval blockades and taking military action.

While China says North Korea should be punished, it wants sanctions to be limited primarily to the country’s nuclear programme.

China’s UN Ambassador Wang Guangya reiterated yesterday that sanctions should be limited to the non-military measures authorised under article 41 of the UN Charter, which includes economic penalties, breaking diplomatic relations or banning air travel.

The revised US draft makes no mention of article 41 and maintains some military sanctions.

It again requires all member states to prevent the sale or transfer of arms, luxury goods and material and technology that could contribute to North Korea’s nuclear, ballistic missile or other weapons-related programmes.

In a new proposal, the items subject to sanctions would be set out in an annex to the resolution, come from a country’s own list or be determined by a new Security Council sanctions committee.

The sanctions committee, also new and proposed by Japan, would monitor the implementation of the measures in the resolution by seeking information from all countries and taking “appropriate action” on alleged violations.

The new draft would impose a travel ban on people supporting North Korea’s nuclear, ballistic missile and other weapons-related programmes, another Japanese proposal.

The previous US draft called on all states to undertake and facilitate inspection of cargo to and from North Korea to ensure compliance with sanctions. The new draft would allow states to inspect cargo “as necessary” to ensure compliance and to prevent illegal trafficking.

The latest US proposal would still require countries to freeze all assets related to North Korea’s weapons and missile programmes, but a call to freeze assets from other “illicit activities such as those related to counterfeiting, money-laundering or narcotics” was dropped.

So was a call to prevent “any abuses of the international financial system” that could contribute to the transfer or development of banned weapons.

Bolton said there were still “areas of disagreement” and the US was prepared for further discussion but it wants “a strong and swift response” by the end of the week.

Earlier yesterday, Secretary General Kofi Annan urged the US to hold bilateral talks with North Korea and called on the communist nation not to escalate an “extremely difficult” situation.

“I have always argued that we should talk to parties whose behaviour we want to change, whose behaviour we want to influence, and from that point of view I believe that … (the) US and North Korea should talk,” Annan said.

The US has refused to talk one-on-one with North Korea except on the margins of six-party talks.

South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon, the Security Council’s nominee for the next secretary general, said his government has expressed “strong support for the speedy action to be taken by the Security Council”.

The debate – with the US, Britain and France facing off against China and Russia – echoes the arguments made during Security Council negotiations over how sternly to rebuke Iran for its suspect nuclear programme.

In that case, because of Chinese and Russian resistance, the council agreed to invoke chapter seven’s article 40, which is weaker.

The Chinese stance frustrated Japan, which, more than anyone else, wants tougher sanctions.

“We do recognise, acknowledge that they have made some effort, but in our view we would have to ask them to make further efforts,” said Japan’s UN Ambassador Kenzo Oshima.