After Missiles, Calls Go Out

"Diplomacy takes a while, particularly when you are dealing with a variety of partners," President Bush said at a news conference with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Hunter. (By Gerald Martineau -- The Washington Post)

Senior U.S., Japanese, French and British diplomats met privately yesterday afternoon to decide whether to accommodate China and Russia or to call their bluff and schedule a vote on the resolution. Those talks were inconclusive, officials said.

John R. Bolton, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said that 13 of the 15 council members were in favor of the resolution condemning North Korea and requiring that states impede its effort to support its ballistic missile program.

"The support remains really overwhelming to make a very strong statement of condemnation of the North Korean missile launches and, I think, to take strong, effective measures in response," Bolton said. "So, obviously, there is still a lot of negotiation to go. This is the United Nations."

Michael Green, who until recently served as the senior Asia expert on the National Security Council, said he believes China could be persuaded to sign on to a tough U.N. resolution, in part because North Korea ignored Chinese and U.S. warnings not to launch any missiles.

"It's important to look at the quiet diplomatic work the administration did as North Korea prepared to launch these missiles," Green said. "The administration is now well-positioned to go back to these countries and say, 'North Korea defied you, and we should have a common position.' "

But Dan Blumenthal of the American Enterprise Institute said he doubts China would support the United States on tough sanctions in the absence of a more aggressive U.S. campaign to pressure Beijing. "I don't think they are too unhappy with the status quo," said Blumenthal, who formerly worked on Asia issues at the Pentagon. "The Chinese probably condemned North Korea the least. . . . I just don't see any evidence that the Chinese are in line with the United States and Japan on this issue."

Lynch reported from the United Nations. Correspondent Anthony Faiola in Tokyo contributed to this report.