Japan, US must join forces for tougher sanctions on North Korea

North Korea has carried out two nuclear tests and launched more than 20 ballistic missiles so far this year. Some of them landed in Japan’s exclusive economic zone.
“It is purely a matter of good fortune that no commercial aircraft or ships suffered any damage during this incident,” Abe said. This comment is right on the money.
Pyongyang has repeatedly disregarded the sanctions resolutions adopted against it by the UN Security Council. Abe stressed, “The raison d’etre of the United Nations is now truly being tested.” To force North Korea to abandon its ambition of possessing nuclear weapons, imposing tougher sanctions is indispensable.
Abe exchanged views with US President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister Theresa May – leaders of two of the five permanent members of the Security Council – among others. It is of no small significance that Abe has won the cooperation of leaders of these countries to work toward adopting a new resolution on sanctions against North Korea.
The key to adopting a new resolution and ensuring the effectiveness of sanctions is how China, which is passive about additional sanctions, will respond. It is important for Japan, together with the United States and other countries, to press Beijing to join the effort to constrain North Korea.
The 60th anniversary of Japan’s UN membership is in December. Japan is currently serving as a non-permanent member of the Security Council for the 11th time, more than any other UN member. Japan’s financial contributions to the United Nations exceed $20 billion.
Japan must fulfill its role in tackling the latest North Korean action also from the viewpoint of realising Security Council reforms and becoming, along with others, a permanent member of that body.
In his final UN address as US President, Obama also emphasised the need for applying pressure on Pyongyang, saying: “When North Korea tests a bomb that endangers all of us.”
We cannot overlook the fact that four of five North Korean nuclear tests were conducted while Obama was president of the United States. It is painfully regrettable that his administration failed to apply sufficient pressure on Beijing to rigorously impose sanctions. This eventually led to North Korea making progress in its nuclear and missile development programme.
With China’s self-serving expansion of its maritime activities and Russia’s intervention into the affairs of Ukraine in mind, Obama expressed a sense of alarm, saying: “Powerful nations contest the constraints placed on them by international law.”
Reflecting on the war in Iraq waged by the previous Bush administration, Obama’s diplomacy has attached more importance to international collaboration. The Obama administration has achieved results by reinforcing its alliance with two Asian allies – Japan and South Korea. But its influence in the Middle East and vis-a-vis China and Russia has undeniably declined.
While the United States has given up its conventional role as the “world’s policeman”, in which it actively intervened in international disputes, moves to change the status quo by force have intensified. This, in one respect, has led to the emergence of extremist groups, including the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
Doesn’t Obama feel regret about such a development?