The US Ambassador John Bolton said yesterday that key members of
the UN Security Council agreed to put off a vote on a draft
resolution that would slap sanctions on North Korea over its recent
missile tests.
"We suspend here while diplomacy in Pyongyang proceeds," he told
reporters at the UN headquarters in New York, stressing that delay,
decided by the cosponsors of the draft resolution, will not be
infinite.
Bolton further explained that this decision is made to provide
maximal support for effort of a Chinese diplomatic mission to
Pyongyang.
"We're going to look at it on a daily basis," he noted, adding
that he and his Japanese counterpart Kenzo Oshima would brief the
council members on the latest developments later Monday.
The US ambassador also said that the US wants North Korea to
return to the talks, and resume the moratorium on missile testing.
But he refused to clarify whether the US would agree to drop
sanctions if North Korea did so.
Japan formally presented a draft resolution on Friday, seeking
sanctions against North Korea. The draft, cosponsored by Britain,
France and the US, invokes Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, which
authorizes sanctions or even military action.
(Xinhua News Agency July 11, 2006)
