U.S. working with UNSC members for possible sanctions: State Dept.

By Hwang Doo-hyong
WASHINGTON, May 29 (Yonhap) -- The United States Thursday said it was working
closely with the international community toward possible sanctions on North Korea
for its nuclear test early this week.

State Department spokesman Ian Kelly also said that it will take several days for
the U.N. Security Council to produce an agreement.
"We're working up at the U.N. with our Security Council colleagues on what sort
of shape these consequences should take," Kelly told a daily news briefing.
"We're looking at a broad range of possible responses to it, including possible
sanctions."
The tone of Kelly's remarks were softer than those of U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice,
who said Tuesday, "We're going to now pursue a very strong resolution in the
Security Council with substantially tougher sanctions."
North Korea conducted an underground nuclear test Monday, triggering the
15-member council to convene for the second time in about a month over
provocations from the North.
The test came after repeated threats from Pyongyang to do so following the
council's sanctioning of three North Korean firms for its April 5 rocket launch.
North Korea also has expelled international nuclear monitors and threatened to
restart its disabled nuclear reactor and boycott the six-party talks on its
denuclearization.
Kelly said the U.S. was trying to clarify Russian Foreign Minister Sergey
Lavrov's remarks Wednesday that he would "oppose punishment for punishment's
sake."
"We have, I think, gone into the ministry for clarification of its remarks," he
said. "But the Russian Foreign Ministry, on the very first day of the crisis, put
out a very strong statement and they played a very constructive role in the
Security Council."
The spokesman said he still hopes that Russia, one of five veto powers in the
council, will join the U.S. in applying strong sanctions on North Korea.
"Our understanding is that our Russian colleague on the Security Council
understands the need for a strong message to send to North Korea to make them
understand that their actions were unacceptable and there must be consequences
for these actions," he said.
Some diplomatic sources said that China and Russia have so far been very
cooperative in pushing ahead with a strong, legally binding resolution against
the North, unlike last month, when they effectively thwarted the U.S. and its
allies. At that time, a largely symbolic council presidential statement was
adopted.
Others say it's not clear at the moment whether China will join the U.S., citing
a lack of a clear Chinese perception of the real intent of North Korea.
In an apparent attempt to maintain leverage, China -- North Korea's staunch
communist ally -- has traditionally refrained from sanctioning its nuclear-armed,
but impoverished communist neighbor.
China, the provider of most of the energy North Korea needs and the largest
trading and investment partner, is the key to whether the council will be able
impose financial sanctions, reportedly favored by the U.S., which froze tens of
millions of dollars in North Korean assets in Macau's Banco Delta Asia in 2005.
Kelly admitted the situation is complex.
"I will say that it's a very complex situation, and we're working very closely
with our colleagues on the Security Council," he said. "This is not going to be
something that we're going to be able to come up with in the next day or two. I'm
not going to put a timetable on it."
Five permanent members of the council, plus South Korea and Japan, will meet
again later in the day in "a follow-up to the meeting they had on Tuesday," Kelly
said. "They've had a chance to consult with capitals. I don't want to get into
details of exactly where this is going to come out, what specific language we're
going to come up with. But we are looking at a new resolution."
hdh@yna.co.kr
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