Over in Korea

While the rest of the world is busy chastising Israel for their 'mean' self-defence tactics and 'aggressive' rescue operations of their captured soldiers, it seems China and Russia have finally been dragged/bribed/appeased whinging and whining to the meeting table over North Korea.

Maybe it's just me but I had to read this a few times before getting it, maybe this is why tin-pot dictatorships around the world usually ignore diplomatic waffling and prefer to let bullets do the talking.

The government [Japanese] is prepared to back down on military sanctions against North Korea in a trade-off that follows a compromise by China and Russia that permitted a U.N. Security Council resolution aimed at imposing sanctions against Pyongyang to go ahead--though it will insist the resolution contains a statement calling the country's recent missile launches a threat to international peace, government sources said Thursday.

China and Russia on Wednesday presented a resolution that seeks North Korea's promise to suspend missile launches and return to six-nation talks on its nuclear program.

Tokyo plans to begin talks with China, Russia and the United States on the removal of the mention of Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter, which allows for military sanctions. At the talks, the government plans to request that a statement be included in the resolution that describes the launching of missiles by Pyongyang as a threat to international peace and security.

Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter stipulates that it is the U.N. Security Council's right to maintain international peace. If a threat has been determined, the article calls for the Security Council to determine whether it will take nonmilitary action--under Clause 39--or military action, as specified under Clause 41. However, the chapter does not cover military action by multinational forces.

The government has determined that even with no mention of Chapter 7, a similar effect could be achieved by calling the latest launches by North Korea a "threat" to international peace and security. The term "threat" is the basis of Chapter 39 of the U.N. Charter.

To cut a long story short, the Sam and the last Samurai want the possibility of military and economic sanctions, Ivan and the Emperor [obviously happy that their little nutter in Pyongyang continues to irritate Sam] want a mere promise written on a napkin from uncle Kim.

So after much waffling and posturing they seem to have agreed that they will have a meeting and try to cajole a promise from uncle Kim, with the threat of economic sanctions and fancy grammar.

No wonder Dubya lost his temper with the UN and put the boot to Saddams bum.

I can just see it, months from now, somewhere in Pyongyang the official letter from the UN is delivered by some poor lackey to uncle Kim. His reaction will be along the lines of, huh, what the hell is this, oh those old things, that was taepodong 2, we are ready to test taepodong 3 now. Sorry suckers, get back to the meeting table.