4 Apr : As North Korea prepared to test a long-range missile, UN Security Council, the US, France, Britain and Japan privately discussed a possible resolution to condemn the launch and tighten enforcement of existing sanctions on the communist nation.
Council diplomats, anticipating a weekend emergency session of the council if North Korea’s launch proceeds, said that a draft resolution had begun circulating that could
essentially reaffirm and tighten enforcement of the demands and sanctions of the council’s resolution 1718, passed in October 2006 five days after a North Korean nuclear test.
Concerns were widespread at the prospect of North Korea having both nuclear weapons and long-range Taepodong-2 missiles that could carry payloads as far as US soil.
The diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity, because of the sensitive nature of the discussions.
"This is essentially an act of defiance against the Security Council," said John Bolton, a former US ambassador to the UN and ex-US undersecretary of state in charge of the North Korean nuclear dossier.
Bolton, a longtime critic of what he sees as US leniency with North Korea, said yesterday he didn’t expect anything more than a condemnation and no new economic sanctions again North Korea.