North Korea faces sanctions and change

BY ROSALIE E. DUNBAR, NEWS EDITOR

At this writing, North Korea has been in the news for a number of reasons. One involves the test launch of long-range missiles and the underground test of a nuclear weapon. On June 12, the UN Security Council voted unanimously to sanction North Korea for the nuclear test, and to attempt to stop its further development of nuclear weapons. Among other sanctions, it called upon UN member nations to inspect cargo vessels and airplanes suspected of carrying military equipment or related material into or out of North Korea.

How big a difference this will make is debatable, since the only mandatory provision is a ban on arms exports. North Korea has responded with aggressive rhetoric, stating that such sanctions, if actually implemented, would be an act of war, and implied that it would strike back.

For many years, "six-party talks" involving the US, Russia, China, Japan, and North and South Korea have tried to find a way to integrate North Korea into the family of nations, and to prevent it from developing a nuclear arsenal. While there has been some progress, it has often been wiped out by North Korea returning to its old outlook and withdrawing into self-imposed isolation except for relations with its closest allies.

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North Korea faces sanctions and change

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