New York - Talks on North Korea's sanctions at the United Nations were at a standstill on Monday as negotiators were waiting for decisions from some capitals whether they would support a toughened US demand for inspection of ships and aircraft entering and leaving North Korea. The interdiction by air and sea of shipments that may contain illicit nuclear materials or weapons has been under consideration by the UN Security Council since 2006, when that country exploded its first nuclear bomb. The intent would be to deny North Korea access to materials that could help it further build its nuclear technology
The discussions come amid rising tensions between Washington and North Korea after the Pyongyang government earlier Monday sentenced two American journalists to 12 years of hard labour on charges that they illegally crossed into North Korean territory and conspired against the regime there.
The new push on the issue of interdiction is the current focus of the Obama administration efforts, The New York Times reported over the weekend. The move would represent a tougher measure beyond the UN-imposed sanctions against North Korea in 2006. US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton referred to the measure while speaking on ABC's "This week" on Sunday.
The Times said President Barack Obama's national security team had reached the conclusion that North Korea would never abandon its nuclear ambitions and wants to be recognized as a nuclear state. Such assumption would compel Washington to take a tougher stance to deal with the communist regime in Pyongyang.
"This entirely changes the dynamic of how you deal with them," The Times quoted a US official as saying. The official said Obama has no intention of offering new incentives to North Korea, reversing polices under previous US administrations.
China and South Korea have opposed interdiction because they feared to be in direct confrontation with North Korea.
It is not known whether China and Russia, two permanent members with veto power, would support interdiction. Their support of Obama's initiative to toughen the sanctions would allow negotiators to move to conclude a new resolution in New York.
The Pyongyang government exploded its second underground nuclear bomb on May 25 and since then has threatened military retaliation on any countries taking part in stopping ships or aircraft entering or leaving North Korea.
After North Korea exploded its first nuclear bomb in October, 2006, the 15-nation council imposed a comprehensive set of sanctions, including an embargo on sale of weapons, war equipment and nuclear materials or technology to North Korea.
The sanctions ban North Korea from selling and transferring its weapons or nuclear technology to other countries. The council also asked UN members to prevent their nationals from engaging in the transfer of embargoed items to Pyongyang.
The council's five permanent members - the United States, Russia, China, France and Britain - plus Japan and South Korea, have been discussing a new resolution imposing sanctions in addition to those in 2006.
Japanese UN Ambassador Yukio Takasu said last Friday that no agreement had been reached among the seven countries on the additional sanctions. The seven negotiators have kept a lid over their closed-door deliberations, citing repeatedly the sensitivity of the negotiations.
Since the May 25 nuclear explosion, North Korea tested a string of missiles in defiance of protests against its nuclear activities.
