The United Nations will not completely commit to South Korea's bid to mete out full sanctions against North Korea for the sinking of a South Korean warship due to China's reluctance, Yonhap news agency said on Saturday.
"It's going to be difficult, probably impossible, to get a resolution in the U.N. Security Council," Yonhap reported, quoting Douglas H. Paal, vice president at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, as saying in organization's website.
"My judgment is China will be unable to support a resolution condemning North Korea. There could be a presidential statement as, when the five major powers in the council don't agree to support action, a statement by the president can condemn something, in this case the sinking of the ship," he said.
Even a symbolic presidential statement may not be easy to get, Paal warned.
"That requires unanimity, and China may not even be willing to support that," he said, according to Yonhap.
"South Korea needs a response for domestic political purposes, so the pressure will be high. And the U.S. will push very hard for China to accept a presidential statement. That is where the crux of the struggle will be over the next couple of months. And when that happens, everyone will need to deal with the North Korean reaction," he said.
