By Andrew L. Jaffee

Even after what we knew about North Korea, and after Stalinist “fearless leader” Kim Jong-il’s detonation of a nuclear device, shooting missiles near Japan, and collusion with Iran… China and Russia are still hedging on sanctions against this most dangerous of Asian rogue states. From Reuters:

China, North Korea’s most important ally, on Tuesday joined other world powers in calling for a tough response to the reclusive communist state’s announcement of a nuclear weapons test.

China and Russia, which both border North Korea, met with other veto-holding members of the U.N. Security Council to discuss a range of sanctions proposed by the United States and Japan to pressure Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear program.

China’s U.N. Ambassador, Wang Guangya, told reporters: “I think that there has to be some punitive actions.” He added: “We need to have a firm, constructive, appropriate but prudent response to North Korea’s nuclear threat.”

In Moscow, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov called the reported test a “colossal blow” to the non-proliferation regime but, like China, insisted an eventual United Nations resolution on this issue should not involve the use of force.

“For us that is very important … imagine if there was military action on the territory of North Korea … North Korea has borders with three countries, and one of them is Russia,” he told reporters.

Blah, blah, blah…

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Related: China, Communism / Socialism, North Korea, Russia, United Nations (UN)

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