Japan’s Sanctions Begin at Midnight Tonight

As of midnight tonight, Japan commences its sanctions against North Korea. All Japanese ports will be closed to North Korean vessels, all imports and exports from North Korea will be banned, and North Korean diplomats will be barred from entering Japan for six months. These are to be undertaken despite North Korea’s threats of reprisal.

Earlier this afternoon, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki announced that the cabinet had approved the sanctions and that they would begin before the United Nations finishes agreeing upon its own method of dealing with North Korea’s October 9th test of a nuclear weapon.

UN Sanctions agreed upon; should be approved on Saturday

UN sanctions are apparently forthcoming. In the past hour, reports have rolled in from New York stating that the security council members have, at least tentatively, agreed upon a draft version of the sanctions. A current Fox News headline reports that China and South Korea have agreed to back the santions.

US Military Options?

Although South Korean backing of the sanctions against North Korea may seem obvious, Fox is leaving out the fact that the US got China on board by dropping the possibility of military action against North Korea as part of the sanctions resolution - and also by dropping the proposed blanket arms embargo.

Conservative bloggers and pundits in the US are sure to claim that the US is going soft on North Korea in order to appease China (and Russia), despite the fact that US military power in the region is still being increased and the fact that the draft resolution would allow military action with the passage of a subsequent resolution. Although North Korea has traditionally attempted to drive wedges between its neighbors, most observers would remember that the US does not exactly always seek UN approval for military action (see Iraq). And any export of North Korean nuclear technology could be the straw that breaks the eagle’s patience.

Further - and what’s gone unmentioned - is that should the US decide to cross that bridge and unleash any kind of military action upon North Korea, it would probably be best to be on China’s good side before such a decision is made. President Bush, however, has said that he harbors ‘no intention’ of attacking North Korea.

All this despite scattered media reports that North Korea’s test may have been an utter failure, or that it may not have detonated a nuclear weapon after all.

Japan to Broadcast Radio Into North Korea?

In a bizarre semi-related story, it was reported this morning that Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Yoshihide Suga announced plans to “support private shortwave radio broadcasts to North Korea calling for information on Japanese nationals abducted to [North Korea].” We have not been able to find a second news source reporting this; any leads would be much appreciated.