US pushing for Friday UN vote on N Korea sanctions

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 12 (Reuters) The United States has decided to push for a vote on North Korea sanctions by the end of the week despite doubts from China on some of the measures proposed by Washington and Tokyo.

US Ambassador John Bolton, who acknowledged there were ''a number of disagreements,'' said he intended to introduce a new draft resolution formally to the 15 Security Council members today with the aim of calling a vote a day later.

Council members usually need at least 24 hours before adoption of a resolution after its introduction. The North Korean resolution is a response to Pyongyang's announcement on Monday that it had conducted an underground a nuclear weapons test.

The new US draft still invokes Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, and determines that North Korea's actions are a threat to international peace and security, diplomats said.

Chinese UN Ambassador Wang Guangya said Beijing wanted to restrict the reference to Chapter 7 to Article 41, which would authorize only nonmilitary sanctions.

Chapter 7 covers sanctions and even military force, providing it is specifically authorized by the Security Council.

But since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, many nations fear that invoking Chapter 7 could automatically open the way for force, even if the council has not authorized it.

''We think the fact that North Korea has conducted a nuclear test does amount to a clear threat to international peace and security and warrants action under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter as well as a variety of strong measures,'' Bolton said.

One controversial provision in the US-drafted resolution, was authorisation for international inspections of cargo moving into and out of North Korea to detect weapons-related material.

China had rejected this and it was not immediately known whether this provision was still in the text.

Interdiction would help US efforts to stop the transport of weapons of mass destruction. In 2002, the United States and the Spanish navy had to release a seized vessel carrying 15 Scud missiles from North Korea to Yemen, because there was no provision under international law prohibiting it.

Beijing has opposed sanctions in the past as a way to curb North Korea's nuclear program but China has agreed to some measures if they are narrowly focused on dangerous weapons.

The draft also calls for an arms embargo, a freeze on any transfer or development of weapons of mass destruction and a ban on luxury goods. And it would impose financial sanctions targeted at ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programs.

In an effort to defuse the crisis, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged Washington to hold bilateral talks with North Korea, which it refuses to do.

''The US and North Korea should talk,'' Annan said. ''I've always argued that we should talk to parties whose behavior we want to change, whose behavior we want to influence.'' REUTERS DH RAI0505