THE FEAR, THE QUIVERING - AT 9:50 P.M. ET:  There is United Nations action on North Korea.  All right, please act nicely and stop laughing.  But there really is.  The New York Times gives us all the drama, wrapped up in a clenched fist.  Well...

UNITED NATIONS — Responding vigorously to a recent North Korean nuclear test, the Security Council voted unanimously Friday on an enhanced package of sanctions that, among other things, calls upon United Nations members to inspect cargo vessels and airplanes suspected of carrying military matériel in or out of the country.

The sanctions in Resolution 1874 were considered tougher than previous versions largely because China and Russia, the closest thing North Korea has to friends, agreed to a mixture of financial and trade restrictions designed to choke off military development.

That actually is the good news.  Now for the asterisks:

Aside from a mandatory ban on arms exports, however, the steps are recommendations rather than requirements, so the potential impact depends on the determination of member states. Both China and Russia pushed to dilute some of the mandatory sanctions sought by the West, Japan and South Korea, and the hesitancy about going too far in punishing North Korea was reflected in their statements.

Oh.  So what, actually, did they do?  Well, China has already issued a statement warning against using force to enforce the no-force resolution. 

But U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice says this step was unprecedented.

Why don't I believe that?  You don't think it's the history of the U.N., do you? 

The story has some further explanation:

But many analysts and former diplomats question whether the new measures will have enough bite to break a cycle — North Korean threats and weapons tests, followed by American-led sanctions and short-lived deals — and persuade the North to give up its nuclear weapons and missile programs once and for all.

“Sanctions won’t bring North Korea to its knees,” said Kim Keun-sik, a specialist on North Korea at Kyungnam University in Seoul. “The North knows this very well, from having lived with economic sanctions of one sort or another for the past 60 years.”

So again, we wait and see, after being assured that we're getting "tough" with North Korea.

Now you can laugh.

June 12, 2009