Letting N. Korea off lightly

The United Nations Security Council unanimously passed limited new sanctions on North Korea Friday. But China and Russia refused to make the most stringent controls mandatory. The net result could be a dangerous repetition of the last sanctions fiasco.

After the Security Council applied sanctions for North Korea's forbidden missile test in 2006, it exploded a nuclear weapon, saying it was justified in defying the U.N. After the United States and other nations began searching North Korean ships for contraband in 2003, North Korea began shipping items overland through China. Meanwhile, China stepped in to replace trading partners Pyongyang lost under the sanctions regime.

According to The Washington Post, the share of North Korea's foreign trade passing through China jumped from 33 to 73 percent in 2003. North Korea's exports and imports surged last year even though sanctions were supposed to restrict trade benefitting its military programs. The likely lesson learned in Pyongyang was that China does not want the North Korean government to collapse and may not be wholly committed to stopping it from acquiring at least a small nuclear weapons capability.

China does care, however, about keeping the six-nation Korean disarmament talks going, possibly because they constrain the U.S., South Korea and Japan from using force. The new U.N. resolution demands the talks be restarted. But in comments on the new U.N. sanctions, China U.N. ambassador Yesui Zhang, said, "under no circumstances should there be the use of force or threats of the use of force" to enforce them.

The Security Council left application of the most stringent new sanctions to member nations' discretion. These include inspecting cargo to and from North Korea for prohibited military items and a crackdown on financial services.

North Korea, however, remained belligerently unbowed Saturday, declaring that it would take "resolute military actions" against any nation that tries to derail its nuclear-weapons program.

And based on its record of lax enforcement of the last sanctions, it is doubtful that China will inspect all North Korean cargo.

China and Russia both say they are worried about North Korea's nuclear quest. But they don't act as if they take it seriously.

Unless they change their permissive behavior toward Pyongyang, North Korea is unlikely to be impressed by the new U.N. sanctions, and change its dangerous ways.