Just over a week ago, the United Nations Security Council warned
North Korea of unspecified consequences against the nation if it
were to test a nuclear weapon.
At the time, the U.S. said it took the threat by North Korea
seriously, and the Japanese foreign minister said the communist
regime would be the target of “severely punitive
measures” if it pursued the use of nuclear weapons.
But as it turns out, those severe measures amount to limited
sanctions against North Korea, which the United Nations has no
ability to enforce.
The sanctions themselves are well and good ““ they include
a ban on the import or export of goods related to North
Korea’s weapons and a freeze on financial transactions
supporting the nation’s weapons program. The resolution also
places an embargo on heavy conventional weapons and luxury goods,
and bans senior North Korean officials from traveling.
But it is doubtful that these sanctions will do much good. For
one thing, the resolution does not allow for military enforcement
of the sanctions.
Second, the resolution only “requests,” rather than
requires, that nations inspect North Korean cargo.
The resolution passed Saturday is certainly a watered-down
version of the harsh actions promised against North Korea a week
ago.
What is the point of sanctions that cannot be enforced? Such
empty sanctions and threats amount to nothing at all.
They certainly do not amount to a “clear message” to
North Korea that “the world is united in our opposition to
his nuclear weapons plan,” as President Bush stated.
The sanctions can be most appropriately described as a mere
reprimand. With a good deal of hemming and hawing, it seems more
like the organization is shaking its finger instead of even giving
a slap on the wrist to North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Il.
For a country that is set on acquiring nuclear weapons, this
sort of action is unlikely to serve as a deterrent.
If the U.N.’s goal is, as stated, to prevent North Korea
from developing or exporting nuclear materials and it intends to do
so through sanctions, the resolution passed Saturday is not the way
to do it.
North Korea has already stated that it “totally rejects
the unjustifiable resolution” and will not be deterred by the
resolution.
And it will certainly not be deterred by a resolution that
cannot be enforced and that targets only specific areas of the
North Korean economy.
Pakistan has developed nuclear weapons, despite intermittent
U.S. sanctions against the country. Sanctions against India also
did not succeed in deterring the state from pursuing its nuclear
weapons program.
In the nuclear age ““ where some states possess nuclear
technology and others fear for their fate if they do not have such
weapons ““ weak sanctions are unlikely to deter a country
which has stated that it views the U.S. nuclear arsenal as a threat
to its safety.
Worse, a weak response following promises of harsh action gives
North Korea and other nations bent on acquiring nuclear technology
little reason to take the U.N. seriously. The organization promised
consequences and imposed a ban that has few consequences.
There are many avenues the U.N. could take in dealing with North
Korea, but the road of empty threats accomplishes nothing. The U.N.
boasts of its supposed harsh actions without having actually taken
any.