South Korea wavers on North Korea sanctions

TOKYO -- A top U.S. envoy arrived Sunday in Tokyo to rally a united international front against North Korea's recent missile tests, but cracks were already appearing over a Japanese proposal for sanctions against the communist state.\nThe visit comes ahead of a pivotal U.N. Security Council showdown over the stern wording of the proposed resolution, which Japan vowed Sunday not to temper -- despite resistance to sanctions from China and apparent wavering by South Korea.\nAmid the diplomatic wrangling, North Korea repeated threats that attempts to rein in its military exercises could spark a war.\nIn Washington, a top U.S. diplomat said Sunday the Bush administration would resist one-on-one talks with North Korea and insist that other nations in the region participate in any negotiations over its nuclear weapons and missile programs.\n"The goal of the current diplomacy should be to use the combined leverage of China and Russia, of South Korea, Japan and the United States to force the North Koreans back to the negotiating table," Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns said.\n"We really don't see the logic of turning this into a test of wills between two countries -- the United States and North Korea," Burns told NBC's "Meet the Press."\nSix-party talks over Pyongyang's nuclear agenda have been stalled since September.\nChina and Russia, traditional allies of the North, are veto-wielding permanent members of the Security Council. Both have voiced opposition to Japan's resolution, which would impose sanctions and order the communist regime to stop developing ballistic missiles. Japan hopes to put the resolution to a vote Monday.\nBut U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said the major players are presenting a unified message to Pyongyang, which triggered an international furor by test-firing seven missiles into the Sea of Japan on Wednesday. At least one missile was believed to be capable of striking U.S. shores.\n"I don't see any splintering. On the contrary, I see a very clear message," Hill said, arriving in Tokyo after visits to Seoul and Beijing. "All countries are showing resolve in the ways that they can."\nYet Song Min-soon, South Korea's presidential security adviser, told The Associated Press that Seoul was not convinced sanctions would stop North Korea's missile efforts.\n"We first need to determine if such measures will be effective in preventing the North's missile proliferation," Song said, refusing to clarify whether Seoul supported or opposed the resolution.