CNN iReport

The U.N. continues to work on a resolution to respond to North Korea's nuclear weapon and missile tests.  See, for example, the article "U.S., allies plan tough U.N. resolution on North Korea" by Elise Labott on CNN at http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/06/01/us.north.korea/index.html?iref=newssearch .  According to that article, actions that are being considered include "...trade and economic sanctions, possibly including an arms embargo to prevent North Korea  from engaging in lucrative arms sales."

This is good.  It is not enough, however.  I think an arms embargo should include any incoming material that might be supportive of the nuclear and missile technologies and also anything that might be useful in preparing or fighting a war.

Even that is probably not enough, though.  North Korea now has internal capabilities that are sufficient to expand their capabilities without connection to the outside world.  I hope ther intelligence community has better information in this case than in the recent Iraq intelligence mistakes.  It is very important to be able to assess whether North Korea already has nuclear-tipped missiles or not , and how many there might be .  This  information is vital to determine  the timescale over which the crisis (or problem) can be addressed , how serious it is, and how it might be dealt with.

Quite apart from what the resolution might say, the United Nations needs to be more than a discussion body.  North Korea has already demonstrated disdain for restrictions and embargos.  Rather, its response to embargos has been to escalate its military pressure on the world, and to attempt to obtain concessions, at the very least.

Another idea occurs to me.  Perhaps Japan and South Korea should be admitted to the U.N. Security Council on some basis.  Although they are technically non-nuclear nations, they have vital interests in the North Korean threat, and should have a pivotal role in determining U.N. actions.  This might have the additional benefits of making North Korea's moves counter-productive and making these two countries consider it less necessary to develop nuclear programs of their own.

My previous report, "New idea for meeting North Korea's challenge?" can be found at http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-266827 .