It Makes a Difference to the Sheep

THE JAPANESE WEIGH IN

The Japanese government on Friday expressed "deep regret" over North Korea's decision to expel International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors and said North Korea is playing an "extremely dangerous game."

Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi said the North Korean move violates its international obligations and triggers "grave concerns" on proliferation of nuclear weapons.

US AND THE UN GANG UP ON NORTH KOREA:

President Bush's top national security advisers decided today to back an effort by the International Atomic Energy Agency to have the Security Council declare that North Korea is violating the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and other agreements to keep nuclear weapons out of the Korean peninsula, senior administration officials said today.

In turning to the Security Council, which may seek to impose penalties, administration officials acknowledged that they were trying to counter North Korea's effort to increase pressure on the West. They were also trying to cast the issue as North Korea's international defiance, rather than a confrontation between Pyongyang and Washington.

However, given this:

But several administration officials insisted today that the United States is not considering military action against North Korea, saying that the risks of a counterattack on South Korea and perhaps Japan would simply be too great.

it doesn't seem likely that effectively toothless UN reprimands will mean anything.