If anyone cares, the United Nations has finally agreed on the angry letter they are going to send Kim Jong-il:

The UN Security Council on Monday unanimously condemned North Korea for its long-range rocket launch and agreed to tighten existing sanctions against Pyongyang.

All 15 members endorsed the compromise text, which was agreed by six major powers Saturday in response to North Korea’s April 5 launch over Japan.

The text, proposed to the full council Saturday by its five permanent members — Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States — plus Japan, falls short of the tougher stance Tokyo had sought.

Backed by the United States and its European allies, Japan had pressed for a resolution, which carries more weight, but veto-wielding China and Russia balked and urged restraint to avoid harming prospects for resuming the six-party talks on North Korea’s nuclear disarmament.

The non-binding statement, however, clearly “condemns” North Korea’s launch of a three-stage Taepodong-2 rocket over Japan, saying it was “in contravention” of Security Council resolution 1718, which barred Pyongyang from conducting missile-related activities.  [AFP]

In the entire article the AFP journalist didn’t bother to point out that this resolution has no legal authority because it is a presidential statement which is non-binding.  So all the tough words that the journalist is fawning over in this UN statement are absolutely meaningless.   All this statement is, is political cover for the US and Japan to make it look like they are doing something when in fact nothing is getting done, which is about the usual in regards to the North Korea issue.

It is amazing how much fiction continues to match reality in regards to North Korea:

Anyway the North Koreans are not going to take receiving this angry non-binding letter without a response:

North Korea vowed Tuesday to restore the nuclear facilities that it had been disabling and boycott international talks on its nuclear weapons program to protest against the U.N. Security Council’s reaction to its recent rocket launching.

An unusually strong statement, carried on the country’s official KCNA agency, said that North Korea “resolutely condemns” the statement by the United Nations.

It was the Pyongyang’s first reaction to the Security Council’s unanimous condemnation Monday of the April 5 rocket launch, which North Korea says sent a satellite into space. The United States and others say that it was aimed at testing long-range missile technology.

North Korea, which refers to itself as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, or D.P.R.K., said in the statement that it “resolutely rejects the unjust action” taken by the U.N. Security Council.

“There would be no need to hold six-party talks which the D.P.R.K. has attended,” it added, as they have “turned into a platform for infringing upon the sovereignty of the D.P.R.K. and seeking to force the D.P.R.K. to disarm itself.”

North Korea also said it would “actively consider” building a nuclear light-water reactor and reprocess spent fuel rods at am atomic power plant. Pyongyang had partially dismantled its Yongbyon nuclear plant in 2008, as part of an international agreement which guaranteed it aid and other concessions in exchange for disabling its atomic facilities.  [NY Times]

They are not going to restart the Yongbyon plant because it was already old and decrepit anyway.  They are more then likely going to continue the construction of the larger nuclear facility right next door to Yongbyon.  Also for all of you who are just so saddened to see the North Koreans boycott the nuclear talks, don’t worry the talks will start again because the North Koreans always get massive pay days from these talks.

So I wouldn’t be surprised that when in a few months whatever deal gets worked out to release the two US journalists effectively being held hostage by North Korea, that the North Koreans decide to enter into some kind of bilateral negotiations with the US and the whole moment will be considered some great foreign policy victory.

Make sure to read the latest from One Free Korea here and here as well.