Posted by
Team Turk on Friday, October 13, 2006 3:18:59 PM
From United Press International:
U.S. and European diplomats have said the U.N. Security Council is nearing final agreement on a plan to force sanctions and an arms embargo on North Korea.
Diplomats said Japan and the council's five permanent members -- the China, France, Great Britain, Russia and the United States -- have created a document outlining a compromise on the sanctions, a response to the country's recent nuclear test.
The compromise included assurances China requested from the United States that the resolution would not be later used for military action against North Korea, The Washington Post reported. The document was sent to heads of state Thursday for approval.
"I don't want to say we've reached agreement, but many, many of the significant differences have been closed," U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said. "But I'm very pleased with the progress we've made and I think it's close to the point where we will have an agreement."
The United States agreed to tone down language in a draft of the resolution that called for a ban on North Korean trade in luxury goods, a ban on travel for individuals involved in the country's weapons programs and the freezing of those people's assets. China called the measures too harsh and pushed for a series of penalties focusing on weapons programs.