I’m sure no one is surprised by the fact that the United Nations is about to pass worthless sanctions against North Korea:

Still, the resolution, if passed, would represent an escalation of the United Nations’ efforts to restrain North Korea. It would sharply restrict Pyongyang’s access to international grants, financial assistance and low-interest loans. It would also reinvigorate efforts to enforce a range of sanctions imposed on North Korea after its first nuclear test in October 2006.

The text calls for U.N. member states to inspect all shipments entering or leaving North Korea if there is a reasonable suspicion that the cargo contains banned nuclear or missile technology. It also authorizes member nations, for the first time, to search ships suspected of carrying banned materials on the high seas and to seize any contraband found.

The draft, however, includes important caveats, such as the need for the flag state — the country in which a ship is registered — to approve the searches. U.S. Ambassador Susan E. Rice and other U.N. diplomats said that if the flag state does not allow inspection on the high seas, it would be required to direct the ship to a nearby port for a search.  [Washington Post]

So all North Korea has to do is flag their ships with nations friendly to them like Syria and if Syria doesn’t approve of the search no one can search it.  What a joke.  Like I said before joining PSI and actually enforcing it are two different issues.

John Bolton has the most appropriate response to this:

But her predecessor, John R. Bolton, who represented the Bush administration at the United Nations, said the draft marked only a “modest” strengthening of sanctions he had helped negotiate three years ago. He said that it is unlikely that North Korea will allow its vessels to be searched on the high seas and that the resolution contains no provision to use force to compel North Korean ships to dock in a foreign port.

All this latest resolution is, is a watered down rehash of sanctions that already exist.  This all goes back to my prior posting on this issue when the Chinese and Russians were arguing with the US over how not to enforce sanctions that already exist.  Well they have succeeded.

You can never play this video too many times:

So with the United Nations worthless as usual that means it will be up to the US government to do something.  There has actually been encouraging signs from the Obama administration’s approach especially in regards to financial sanctions.  In the coming months we will see if this new found toughness towards North Korea is real or not.  Indications from the Democrats in Congress shows it may not:

The last bastion of appeasement is Congress, firmly under Democratic control.  I’ve previously reported how Senate Democrats and John Kerry’s hapless Foreign Relations Committee implicitly (and ironically) put their stamp of approval on the failed appeasement policies of George W. Bush by confirming Christopher Hill, and how they blocked a bill that would have re-added North Korea to the list of state sponsors of terrorism.  Now, it’s the House Democratic leadership that’s covering for Kim Jong Il and shielding him the consequences of his mendacy, terrorism, and global proliferation.  [One Free Korea]

Click the link to read how and why the Democrats are blocking Congressional efforts to punish the North Korean regime such as by putting them back on the State Sponsors of Terrorism List.  So despite months of provocations North Korea has not yet been met with any serious consequences and the way it looks now, if the Obama administration doesn’t decide to provide a unilateral approach they never will receive consequences for their actions.  In fact as history has shown they are often rewarded.  Will this time be the same?