North Korea/sanction

Australia and Japan put penalties on North Korea
By Choe Sang-Hun International Herald Tribune

Published: September 19, 2006




SEOUL Australia and Japan imposed new financial sanctions on North Korea on Tuesday, as the United States dismissed appeals from China and South Korea for a softer approach and rallied more international pressure on the Communist North to return to nuclear disarmament talks or face a slow wilting of its finances.

The initial impact of the actions announced Tuesday will be limited because Australia and Japan have little trade with North Korea, experts said. But the sanctions were another clear sign that Washington and its allies are intent on tightening a financial noose around the North Korean regime, whose conduits of hard currency from abroad the Bush administration is determined to squeeze. International Herald Tribune

uesday September 19, 5:16 PMChina opposes Japan's additional sanctions against N. Korea
(Kyodo) _ China on Tuesday expressed opposition toward Japan's financial sanctions imposed on North Korea the same day, saying that the North Korean nuclear and missile standoff should be solved through dialogue.

North Korea says it will not return to the talks until the United States lifts sanctions it imposed on a Macao-based bank suspected of laundering money and counterfeiting for North Korea.

Washington has refused to comply with North Korea's demand, saying the sanctions are a law enforcement issue that should not be linked to the nuclear negotiations.kyodo

S. Korea, US at Odds Over NK Issues



By Ryu Jin
Staff Reporter

South Korea and the United States still remain at odds over their approaches toward North Korea despite an agreement on a ``common and broad approach’’ for the restart of the six-party talks made at a Seoul-Washington summit last Thursday, according to South Korean and U.S. officials Tuesday.

Seoul wants the United States to put more weight on diplomacy than sanctions for reviving the talks on Pyongyang’s nuclear programs but Washington seems determined to go ahead with its efforts to put pressure on the Stalinist North, they said.

The top South Korean diplomat in the United States said Seoul has called on Washington to refrain from additional sanctions that could pour cold water on efforts to bring North Korea back to the negotiation table, reports said.Korea times

USA Australia Japan vs China Korea
Hmmmm, as expected.