China, Russia may delay N. Korean vote

UNITED NATIONS—Despite winning key concessions, Russia and China raised new objections that could delay a vote Saturday on a U.N. Security Council resolution imposing punishing sanctions on North Korea for its claimed nuclear test.
U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said the changes sought by Moscow and Beijing were essentially technical in nature and a vote may still be possible Saturday.
But China's U.N. Ambassador Wang Guangya said Saturday morning that Beijing had broader reservations about the impact of the resolution on peace and stability in the region. Underlying China's concerns was a threat by North Korea to carry out a second nuclear test if further sanctions are imposed — and the North's repeated warnings that it would view sanctions as tantamount to a declaration of war.
"The measures contained in the resolution must be firm but appropriate," he said before a meeting that included Japan and the five permanent council members. "So, we have to see whether in the judgment of my government, if the language there is appropriate."
Wang cited a provision that would authorize all countries to inspect cargo leaving and arriving in North Korea to prevent any illegal trafficking in unconventional weapons or ballistic missiles.
"Once it comes into operation, it could easily lead, by one side or the other, to a provocation of conflict, which could have serious implications for the region," he said.
President Bush urged the Security Council to take action.
"By passing such a resolution, we will send a clear message to the North Korean regime that its actions will not be tolerated," Bush said Saturday in his weekly radio address.
The latest draft demands North Korea eliminate all its nuclear weapons but expressly rules out military action against the country, a demand by the Russians and Chinese. The Americans also eliminated a ban on the sale of conventional weapons; instead, the draft limits the embargo to major hardware such as tanks, warships, combat aircraft and missiles.
But the resolution would still ban the import or export of material and equipment that could be used to make nuclear weapons or ballistic missiles.
In another key change to gain Chinese and Russian support, the resolution now says local authorities will cooperate in the inspection process, which covers shipments by land, air and sea. Both China and Russia share borders with North Korea and are uncomfortable with the possibility of the U.S. interdicting ships near their coasts. Bolton said he expected most actions would be performed at ports.
The accord came as U.S. officials said Friday that an air sampling after North Korea's claimed nuclear test detected radioactive debris consistent with an atomic explosion. However, the Bush administration and congressional officials said no final determination had been made about the nature of Monday's mystery-shrouded blast.
Results from another test disclosed Friday — an initial air sampling on Tuesday — showed no evidence of radioactive particles that would be expected from a successful nuclear detonation, a U.S. government intelligence official said.
South Korea and Japan have also been monitoring their environment for signs of a nuclear test. Both said they had found no unusual levels of radiation as of Saturday.
The U.S. and other nations trying to persuade the North to give up its atomic program continued a flurry of high-level diplomatic visits. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice planned a trip next week to Asia; Russia sent an envoy to Pyongyang; and the presidents of China and South Korea — the North's main sources of trade and aid — met in Beijing.
Rice's trip is meant to present a unified front to North Korea, which will be looking for any cracks in the diplomatic coalition behind the U.N. statement.
The U.S.-sponsored draft would declare the claimed test had increased tension in northeast Asia, creating "a clear threat to international peace and security." It would declare the act in "flagrant disregard" of the council's appeal not to detonate a nuclear device, demand that North Korea not conduct any further test or launch any more ballistic missiles, and authorize a range of economic and diplomatic sanctions.
The draft would freeze the financial assets of and impose a travel ban on individuals and entities with any connection to North Korea's weapons or missile programs. It would also ban countries from selling luxury goods to North Korea.
Asked why, Bolton said, "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," North Korea's leader.
Wang questioned how the term would be defined, saying: "I don't know what luxury goods means, because luxury goods can mean many things for different people ... if they don't have it."
The latest draft resolution still invokes Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter, which the U.S. views as a necessary because it makes economic and diplomatic sanctions mandatory.
The Bush administration used the same provision to justify its invasion of Iraq, and Moscow and Beijing worry the U.S. might do the same eventually with North Korea — even though Bush has said the U.S. has no plans to attack.
But in a compromise also used in July to unanimously vote on a resolution condemning North Korean missile launches, the text added mention of Article 41 of the chapter, which permits only "means not involving the use of military force."
A Russian nuclear envoy who visited North Korea said Saturday he pressed the North to return to six-nation nuclear disarmament talks. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Alexeyev said he had a "very useful" meeting Friday with Kim Gye Gwan, the North's nuclear negotiator, but did not say how Kim responded.
Pyongyang has boycotted the six-nation talks for the past 13 months to protest financial measures imposed by Washington for alleged counterfeiting and money-laundering. —Agencies