North Korea shocked the world again this month by conducting yet another nuclear test in defiance of United Nations Security Council resolutions that had imposed tough economic sanctions against the regime. The first nuclear test since January and the fifth since 2006 was reportedly the most powerful one thus far. The nuclear blast also came on the heels of some 20 ballistic missile launches by Pyongyang in recent months.
The Security Council was quick in condemning the nuclear test. In a press statement adopted hours after the Sept. 9 blast, the council said it would "begin its work immediately on appropriate measures under Article 41." Article 41 of the U.N. Charter refers to non-military enforcement measures that may include "complete or partial interruption of economic relations and of rail, sea, air postal, telegraphic, radio and other means of communications, and the severance of diplomatic relations."
Whether the council can come up with effective measures to curtail North Korea's nuclear weapons program in the foreseeable future remains to be seen, however. China and Russia, two veto-wielding permanent members of the Security Council, have already voiced their reservation about imposing additional sanctions against North Korea.