UN Resolution For Military Embargo Passes

Managing international problems sure looks a lot easier when everyone agrees what the next step is.

The sanctions resolution banned all weapons exports from North Korea and most arms imports into the reclusive Communist state. It authorized U.N. member states to inspect North Korean sea, air and land cargo, requiring them to seize and destroy any goods transported in violation of the sanctions.

Both China and Russia, which had been reluctant to support punitive measures against North Korea in the past, endorsed the U.S.-drafted resolution, which is now binding under international law.

I was reading a comment on another blog that was screaming how this was a blockade, which is an act of war, and would lead to a state of war between the US and North Korea.

Such ignorance annoys me...

There is a lot of running around saying "this resolution has teeth." It does, and it doesn't. It comes down to where the ship is flagged, and getting consent to search the ship. Very often consent is given, so this may or may not be a hurdle.

There are only around 300 or so flagged North Korean ships that could move military equipment, and most of those ships are not very big. With that said, the ship Al Hamad which is alleged to move nuclear materials from North Korea to Syria (the stuff Israel blew to hell if you recall) was a North Korean ship.

But that ship made several stops on the way to Syria. With this UN resolution, port stops become tricky business for North Korean flagged ships that need to pull into port, because every Coast Guard on the planet has the right to search a ship of any flag pulling into one of its ports.

In other words, there are plenty of ways this can work without needing to necessarily 'use force' to stop a ship on the high seas, particularly since everywhere North Korea would export weapons isn't exactly close to North Korea.

Ultimately, we will just have to wait and see.