U.S. introduces N. Korea resolution, wants U.N. vote

UNITED NATIONS -- The United States on Thursday introduced a new draft resolution in the Security Council to punish North Korea for its reported nuclear test and said it wants a vote on Friday.\nRussia urged the United States not to rush the vote, saying Moscow still had differences and the U.S. should wait for the results of a flurry of high-level diplomacy. China backed Russia's call, saying Beijing would welcome more talks so the Security Council can send a united and forceful message to Pyongyang condemning the test.\nAfter formally introducing the resolution in the Security Council, U.S. Ambassador John Bolton told reporters Washington wants a vote Friday.\n"I think the council should try to respond to a nuclear test within the same week that the test occurred," he said. "We're certainly in favor of keeping all the diplomatic channels open, but we also want swift action, and we shouldn't allow meetings, and more meetings ... to be an excuse for inaction."\nThe United States and Japan had initially hoped for a vote Thursday. But if Washington wants to get China and Russia -- the two countries closest to North Korea -- on board, a vote is likely be delayed until next week.\nChina appeared to shy away from backing U.S. efforts to impose a travel ban and financial sanctions on the North, saying any U.N. action should focus on bringing its communist neighbor back to talks.\nIn Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said North Korea should understand it had made a mistake but "punishment should not be the purpose" of any U.N. response.\nU.N. action "should be conducive to the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula ... and the resumption of the talks," he told reporters. "It's necessary to express clearly to North Korea that ... the international community is opposed to this nuclear test."\nJapan is imposing its own new sanctions against North Korea. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party approved several harsh measures Thursday, including limits on imports and a ban on all North Korean ships in Japanese waters.\nRussian U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said a high-level Chinese representative was en route to Moscow for talks Friday and Saturday, and Russia's deputy foreign minister is in the region.\n"So there is a lot of diplomatic activity going on and we hope it will produce a good product," he said.\nA special envoy of Chinese President Hu Jintao met President Bush in Washington on Wednesday, and South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun is due Friday in Beijing for talks with China's top leaders, he said.\nLike the original U.S. draft circulated Monday, the new one would condemn the nuclear test, demand that North Korea immediately return to six-party talks without precondition, and impose sanctions for Pyongyang's "flagrant disregard" of the council's appeal. It adds new words demanding that North Korea "not conduct any further nuclear test or launch of a ballistic missile."\nIt also would encourage all concerned countries "to intensify their diplomatic efforts to facilitate the early resumption of the six-party talks, with a view to achieving the verifiable denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and to maintaining peace and stability in the Korean peninsula and in northeast Asia."\nChinese Ambassador Wang Guangya welcomed this addition, which he said was proposed by China.\nThe new draft remains under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter, which includes a range of measures to deal with threats to international peace and conflicts from breaking diplomatic relations to imposing naval blockades and taking military action.\nWhile China says North Korea should face tough action, it wants sanctions to be limited primarily to the North's nuclear program.\nWang reiterated that sanctions should be limited to the nonmilitary measures authorized under Article 41 of the U.N. Charter, which include economic penalties, breaking diplomatic relations or banning air travel.