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UNITED NATIONS – Key world powers started talks Tuesday on a Security Council resolution that could include new sanctions against North Korea, with the United States saying all agreed that Pyongyang's illegal nuclear test must be dealt with "directly and seriously."
Ambassadors from the five permanent veto-wielding council members — the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France — and the two countries most closely affected by the nuclear test, Japan and South Korea, met behind closed doors for more than an hour discussing possibilities for a new resolution.
"I think we are off to a very good start," U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice said afterward on behalf of the group. But she cautioned that the meeting was a first step and that deliberation will "take some time."
"We are thinking through complicated issues that require very careful consideration," she said.
The Security Council held an emergency meeting on Monday following North Korea's second nuclear test, and condemned the underground explosion as a violation of the 2006 resolution it adopted after Pyongyang's first nuclear blast. Council members said they would immediately follow up with a new legally binding resolution.
"We share a common set of objectives, which are to convey very clearly and unequivocally that the actions by North Korea run counter to the interest of regional peace and security, violate international law, and need to be dealt with directly and seriously," Rice said.
None of the participants would disclose any of the elements raised for possible inclusion in the new resolution.
"Everybody has certain ideas, and we went around, ... and we have agreed to meet again," said Japan's U.N. Ambassador Yukio Takasu, whose country asked for Monday's emergency council meeting. "Everyone is seeking instructions from capitals."
France's deputy U.N. ambassador, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, said Monday that his government wants the new resolution to include new sanctions and that other council members also want them.
But it is too early to say what such sanctions might be, and whether China and Russia, both close allies of North Korea, will go along.
Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said Tuesday, without elaborating, that Moscow wants "a strong resolution." China's U.N. Ambassador Zhang Yesui said that discussions were continuing and that the council's statement on Monday "was a reflection" of the views of all 15 council members.
The October 2006 resolution imposed sanctions on North Korea including embargoes on arms and material that could be used in its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, a ban on ballistic missile launches, and authorization for ship searches for banned weapons. It also called for Pyongyang to abandon all nuclear weapons and return to six-party talks aimed at eliminating its nuclear program.
After North Korea launched a rocket on April 5, a move that many saw as a cover for testing its long-range missile technology, the Security Council imposed sanctions on three North Korean companies.
Pyongyang responded by announcing that it was quitting disarmament talks and restarting its atomic facilities. The six-party talks, which began in 2003, had involved North Korea, South Korea, Russia, China, Japan, and the United States.
Japan's Takasu said North Korea's recent actions and test pose "a direct threat" to the security of Japan and other countries and pose a challenge to the Security Council.
"Nobody's saying what we've done is enough," he said. "We need additional" action.
Ambassadors from the five permanent veto-wielding council members — the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France — and the two countries most closely affected by the nuclear test, Japan and South Korea, met behind closed doors for more than an hour discussing possibilities for a new resolution.
"I think we are off to a very good start," U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice said afterward on behalf of the group. But she cautioned that the meeting was a first step and that deliberation will "take some time."
"We are thinking through complicated issues that require very careful consideration," she said.
The Security Council held an emergency meeting on Monday following North Korea's second nuclear test, and condemned the underground explosion as a violation of the 2006 resolution it adopted after Pyongyang's first nuclear blast. Council members said they would immediately follow up with a new legally binding resolution.
"We share a common set of objectives, which are to convey very clearly and unequivocally that the actions by North Korea run counter to the interest of regional peace and security, violate international law, and need to be dealt with directly and seriously," Rice said.
None of the participants would disclose any of the elements raised for possible inclusion in the new resolution.
"Everybody has certain ideas, and we went around, ... and we have agreed to meet again," said Japan's U.N. Ambassador Yukio Takasu, whose country asked for Monday's emergency council meeting. "Everyone is seeking instructions from capitals."
France's deputy U.N. ambassador, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, said Monday that his government wants the new resolution to include new sanctions and that other council members also want them.
But it is too early to say what such sanctions might be, and whether China and Russia, both close allies of North Korea, will go along.
Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said Tuesday, without elaborating, that Moscow wants "a strong resolution." China's U.N. Ambassador Zhang Yesui said that discussions were continuing and that the council's statement on Monday "was a reflection" of the views of all 15 council members.
The October 2006 resolution imposed sanctions on North Korea including embargoes on arms and material that could be used in its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, a ban on ballistic missile launches, and authorization for ship searches for banned weapons. It also called for Pyongyang to abandon all nuclear weapons and return to six-party talks aimed at eliminating its nuclear program.
After North Korea launched a rocket on April 5, a move that many saw as a cover for testing its long-range missile technology, the Security Council imposed sanctions on three North Korean companies.
Pyongyang responded by announcing that it was quitting disarmament talks and restarting its atomic facilities. The six-party talks, which began in 2003, had involved North Korea, South Korea, Russia, China, Japan, and the United States.
Japan's Takasu said North Korea's recent actions and test pose "a direct threat" to the security of Japan and other countries and pose a challenge to the Security Council.
"Nobody's saying what we've done is enough," he said. "We need additional" action.
