North Korea continues to be defiant in the face of international criticism of its recent missile testing. Today, Pyongyang lashed out at Japan for imposing sanctions against the North Korean government. North Korea even used threatening language when referring to Japan's decision to put sanctions in place.
Meanwhile, President Bush continued his attempts to get the rest of the world to put forth a united response to North Korea.
Speaking at a press conference on Friday, a frustrated Bush tried to downplay any military option against North Korea, a country he placed within the 'axis of evil' shortly after the September 11 attacks.
'We want to solve all problems diplomatically,' Bush told reporters.
'I don't know what the man's intentions are,' Bush said referring to North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. 'Is he trying to force us to do something by defying the world?'
A frustrated Bush also admitted that diplomatic negotiations have been 'slow and cumbersome.' 'Some nations are more comfortable with sanctions than others,' Bush explained.
Japan continued to bring a resolution before the United Nations in an effort to get sanctions in place against North Korea. The North Korean government said it would consider sanctions as a declaration of war. As an initial move, Japan has not allowed a North Korean ferry to dock in Japanese waters.
'This may force us to take stronger physical actions,' the Kyodo news agency quoted Song Il-ho, North Korea's ambassador in charge of diplomatic normalization talks with Japan.
Some analysts believe Pyongyang was seeking to force the U.S. to enter direct negotiations with it. Thus far, the U.S. has taken part in the six nation talks which also include Japan, Russia, China, North Korea and South Korea.
Tensions in the region remain high. North Korea has not ruled out launching additional missiles in tests in the near future.
