Bush calls for action on North Korea
George Bush says he wants "serious repercussions" for North Korea
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Wednesday, 11, Oct 2006 08:13
US president George Bush says he wants "serious repercussions" for North Korea as the rogue state threatens military action.
The communist nation has threatened to respond militarily if the rest of the world imposes sanctions punishing it for its pursuit of nuclear weapons.
The threat heightens the diplomatic standoff between the secretive east Asian country and the rest of the world, which universally condemned a nuclear test conducted by North Korea on Monday.
A diplomat told the Yonhap news agency that "sanctions are nonsense" before warning that "if full-scale sanctions take place, we will regard it as a declaration of war. the more they press us, the stronger our response will be".
Mr Bush told reporters this afternoon that he regarded North Korea as having reneged upon previous diplomatic agreements and that he welcomed support from regional players.
"In response to North Korea's actions, we're working with our partners in the region and the United Nations security council to ensure there are serious repercussions for the regime in Pyongyang," he said.
The US, leading the western response to North Korea's nuclear ambitions, is currently circulating a new draft resolution around the UN in New York.
It is widely believed that the document includes punitive measures, although opposition from China is dampening the US' desire to strongly punish Pyongyang.
Japan has acted especially strongly, ending imports to North Korea and disallowing its ships access to Japanese waters.
Meanwhile UN secretary-general Kofi Annan has urged negotiation between North Korea and the rest of the world.
Reports that North Korea may have conducted a second nuclear test made the headlines earlier this morning but were not confirmed by monitoring nations.
Concern over the possibility of a second, larger test reflects the high levels of anxiety which have gripped the world over the militant posturing of Kim Jong-Il's reclusive state.