No Decision Made From U.N. Meeting on N. Korea Launch

SEOUL, South Korea-The U.S. and its allies sought punishment for North Korea's defiant launch of a rocket that apparently fizzled into the Pacific, holding an emergency U.N. meeting in response to the "provocative act" that some believe was a long-range missile test.President Obama, faced with his first global security crisis, called for an international response and condemned North Korea for threatening the peace and stability of nations "near and far." Minutes after liftoff, Japan requested the emergency Security Council session in New York. South Korean President Lee Myung-bak expressed indignation Monday on national radio, saying "North Korea's reckless act of threatening regional and global security cannot have any justification."U.S. and South Korean officials claim the entire rocket, including whatever payload it carried, ended up in the ocean after Sunday's launch, but many world leaders fear the launch indicates the capacity to fire a long-range missile.Pyongyang claims it launched a communications satellite into orbit that is now transmitting data and patriotic songs."North Korea broke the rules, once again, by testing a rocket that could be used for long-range missiles," Obama said in Prague. "It creates instability in their region, around the world. This provocation underscores the need for action, not just this afternoon in the U.N. Security Council, but in our determination to prevent the spread of these weapons."Council members met for three hours Sunday, seeking a unified response, but the meeting ended with a deadlock, breaking up for the night without issuing even a customary preliminary statement of condemnation.Diplomats privy to the closed-door talks say China, Russia, Libya and Vietnam were concerned about further alienating and destabilizing North Korea"We're now in a very sensitive moment," Chinese Ambassador Zhang Yesui said after the talks. "Our position is that all countries concerned should show restraint and refrain from taking actions that might lead to increased tensions."Diplomats continued bilateral talks into the evening.The council's five permanent members-the U.S., Britain, France, China and Russia-left for a meeting with Japan.The U.S. Britain, France and Japan drafted a proposal for a resolution that could be adopted by the end of the week. It aims to toughen existing economic sanctions by "naming and shaming" individuals and entities, diplomats said.Mexican Ambassador Claude Heller, the council's president, said the council would reconvene "as soon as possible" on Monday.Using a possible loophole in U.N. sanctions that bar the North from ballistic missile activity, Pyongyang claimed it was exercising its right to peaceful space development.The U.S. said nuclear-armed North Korea clearly violated the resolution, but objections from Russia and China-the North's closest ally-will almost certainly water down any response. Both have Security Council veto power.While the rogue communist state has repeatedly been belligerent-as it was when it carried out an underground nuclear blast and tested ballistic missiles in recent years-Pyongyang showed increased savvy this time that may make punishment more complicated.
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As in the days of Noah...