Push for N. Korea sanctions hits snag

WASHINGTON – President Bush pressed the leaders of China and Russia on Thursday to join the United States in sending a tough message to North Korea for this week’s missile launches and said the world needs to speak with “one voice” in order to force the communist nation to adhere to international rules.

But a U.S. drive for tough sanctions against North Korea encountered immediate obstacles. In his first comments about the controversy, Russian President Vladimir Putin said concern about the missile tests should not trigger an emotional response that would “drown out common sense.”

North Korea also offered its first official statement since it sent seven missiles aloft on Wednesday, threatening to “take stronger physical actions of other forms, should any other country dare take issue with the exercises” and vowing to continue the exercises at will.

Both statements highlighed a vexing diplomatic challenge for Bush on the eve of his annual summit next week with the leaders of the other industrialized powers. The G-8 meeting, held this year in Russia, already was promising to be consumed by proliferation issues. The nations will discuss diplomatic initiatives by the United States and European nations to persuade Iran to suspend uranium enrichment, a key step toward developing nuclear weapons.

Now, North Korea has muscled its way onto a more prominent place in the U.S. agenda with its latest provocations, including an unsuccessful launch of its long-range Taepodong-2 missile. South Korean media Thursday reported that North Korea appears to have prepared three to five more short- to medium-range missiles for test firing.

The Bush administration was trying to calm passions Thursday while working behind the scenes to enlist China and Russia’s help for tough action at the United Nations against North Korea. Bush called Putin and Chinese President Hu Jintao and told them, in his words, that “we want to solve this problem diplomatically.”

Speaking at a news conference after meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Bush said the U.S. is supporting a Japanese resolution for new sanctions against North Korea but cautioned that it could take time to reach an agreement. “We’re working with our partners to make sure we work with one voice,” Bush said. “Diplomacy takes a while, particularly when you are dealing with a variety of partners.”

Bush acknowledged uncertainty about North Korea’s enigmatic leader Kim Jong Il. “We do know there’s a lot of concentration camps. We do know the people are starving,” he said. “But what we don’t know is his intentions. And so I think we’ve got to plan for the worst and hope for the best.”

At the United Nations, the Security Council remained deadlocked as U.S., European and Japanese diplomats failed to persuade China and Russia to support sanctions against Pyongyang for conducting its missile tests. The council agreed to resume negotiations this morning.

China and Russia are resisting U.S. pressure to take a tough approach to North Korea because of concern that it could fuel instability and jeopardize efforts to restart six-nation talks aimed at getting Pyonyang to abandon its nuclear weapons program.

The United States, Japan and their European allies support the passage of a legally binding resolution that would condemn North Korea and bar all states from transferring the Stalinist regime money, material or technology that could be used to develop ballistic missiles or to pursue nuclear weapons.