President Barack Obama in response to North Korea’s missile test has issued some tough words to the North Korean regime:

President Barack Obama, faced with his first global security crisis, called for an international response and condemned North Korea for threatening the peace and stability of nations “near and far” with what Pyongyang claimed was a satellite launch and its neighbors suspect was a test of a long-range missile technology.

“North Korea broke the rules, once again, by testing a rocket that could be used for long-range missiles,” Obama said in Prague. “This provocation underscores the need for action, not just … in the U.N. Security Council, but in our determination to prevent the spread of these weapons.”  [AP]

However, there is one problem, the UN is even more worthless then I expected and cannot even agree to issue Kim Jong-il an angry letter:

The 15-nation council agreed to continue negotiations on a formal resolution addressing Pyongyang’s action. But China and Russia’s tough stance dealt a setback to efforts the United States, Japan and their allies to push for penalties against North Korea. “Every state has the right to the peaceful use of outer space,” said Russia’s deputy U.N. envoy Igor N. Shcherbak.

After three hours of closed door talks, the council president issued a mild, non-binding statement noting that it had met to address “serious situation” in the Korean Peninsula and to “listen to the concerns arising from the launch.” The council, he added, will continue talks on “the appropriate reaction.”

China’s U.N. envoy, Zhang Yesui, blocked agreement on language simply expressing concern over the launch.  [Washington Post]

This just further shows what an accomplishment Ambassador John Bolton achieved after the 2006 North Korean missile test to get a tough resolution passed even though no one including the US enforced it.  Now an angry letter cannot even be agreed upon.