Global crackdown on North Korea begins

A global crackdown on North Korea's nuclear weapons programme began today, with countries divided over how to enforce UN sanctions in a foreboding sign that imposing the punitive measures may not be easy.

Japan and Australia, staunch critics of North Korea, prepared harsher penalties against the Communist regime, South Korea was staying silent on details of its plans, and China, a major source of leverage over Pyongyang, refused to partake in certain measures.

The divergent response foreshadows what analysts predict will be a rocky road toward enforcing the global crackdown imposed yesterday by the UN Security Council to penalise North Korea for what it said was its first atomic bomb test last week.

The Security Council's unanimous decision ruled out military action against North Korea but called on all countries to inspect cargo leaving and arriving in North Korea to prevent any illegal trafficking in weapons of mass destruction or ballistic missiles.

The measure also banned the import or export of material and equipment used to make nuclear weapons or ballistic missiles. It ordered all countries to freeze the assets and ban travel for anyone engaged in supporting the weapons programmes.

Leading the charge was Japan, which said today that it was not only moving to enact the UN sanctions but also considering stricter measures of its own.

"We are already considering them, and we want to make a final decision," Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said.

Foreign Minister Taro Aso added that Japan could support US forces inspecting cargo going in and out of the North, Kyodo News agency reported, the most recent sign of the new leader's pledge to give his country a more assertive role on the world stage.

Australia welcomed the new UN sanctions as "surprisingly tough" and was likewise considering even stronger measures of its own, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said.

Australia, along with Japan a key US ally in the Asia-Pacific region, has strongly backed a stiff international response to the North's claimed nuclear test last Monday, which Canberra said threatens regional stability.

However, China said it would not conduct any inspections, and its UN envoy called for caution.

"China strongly urges the countries concerned to adopt a prudent and responsible attitude in this regard and refrain from taking any provocative steps that may intensify the tensions," China's UN ambassador Wang Guangya said.

On Sunday, things appeared quiet along the Chinese border with North Korea, and no inspections were apparent.

An official who would give only his family name, Wang, said he had not received any new instructions for inspections at Nanping, a border town, adding things had "been normal the past few days".

At Tumen, another city, the officer on duty said the inspections office was closed on Sundays and he was "unclear" about the situation.

Calls to the Dandong checkpoint were referred to the cargo inspection division, where a man hung up the phone after refusing to answer questions.

South Korea - which has taken a conciliatory approach to the North, including supplying massive amounts of aid - said it will honour the UN resolution but did not elaborate on its plans for inspections.

South Korea's Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, also issued a statement pledging to take "necessary steps" to implement the UN resolution.

However, the ministry did not give further details whether the necessary steps included action on a tourism venture and a joint industrial complex in the North.

Critics have urged the South Korean government to halt the two cash-cow projects, saying that they may be diverted for the North's nuclear weapons programme.

Also today, Russian nuclear envoy Alexander Alexeyev arrived in South Korea for meetings on the nuclear stand-off.

He visited North Korea last week, the first known senior foreign official to travel there since North Korea's October 9 test.

Mr Alexeyev declined to tell reporters upon his arrival at Seoul's Incheon International Airport if he carried any message from the North.

When asked if he thought North Korea would return to the international arms talks it has boycotted since November, he answered: "I hope."

The next UN Secretary-General, currently South Korea's foreign minister, welcomed the resolution.

Ban Ki-moon said the resolution sent a "very clear, strong and unified message" that Pyongyang's claimed nuclear test was unacceptable.

However, Ban cautioned it was important North Korea be engaged in dialogue and not simply punished through sanctions.