The first real test for the sanctions imposed on the DPRK by the U.N. Security Council has arrived. Resolution 1874 calls upon United Nations member countries to inspect North Korean vessels suspected of transporting prohibited materials or weapons. Since Wednesday, a U.S. Navy destroyer has been tracking the North Korean vessel Kang Nam - a cargo ship suspected of carrying missile components allegedly headed for Myanmar (details in the NYT story here).
Problematically, the U.N. resolution only allows for voluntary inspections or an inspection by local officials at a nearby port if the ship refuses to be searched on the high seas - which a North Korean ship most likely would. And, if Myanmar is indeed the ship’s destination, given that the ruling military junta receives arms shipments from the DPRK, a search in port is highly unlikely.
This situation presents an early opportunity for the United States to demonstrate to North Korea and the world that this will not be a repeat of the 2006 sanctions which were poorly followed and enforced. For years, North Korea has dealt with a host of sanctions while continuing to make progress on both missile technology and nuclear weapons. The United States must treat Resolution 1874 seriously if it wishes to actually address the North Korean crisis - years of lax sanctions and diplomatic talks have yielded positively zero results. Additionally, the U.S. must lead by example and demonstrate that it is willing to aggressively enforce the sanctions if it wishes for China, the lynchpin, to do the same.
Since its nuclear test on May 25th, North Korea has been talking tough - speaking of retaliation a “thousand-fold” and threatening war should interception of a ship take place. Now is the time for the U.S. to step up to the plate and play tough - if it fails to enforce Resolution 1874, it will signal U.S. reluctance to genuinely deal with the North Korean problem and allow for the DPRK to continue, unabated, down its current road.