CHINA and Russia moved yesterday to block attempts to impose UN sanctions on North Korea as the reclusive communist nation fired a seventh ballistic missile.

Britain and the US backed the Japanese call for a mandatory Security Council resolution demanding a halt to testing as well as sanctions on funding, parts and technology for Pyongyang’s missile programme. The three countries’ ambassadors also appeared shoulder-to-shoulder outside the council chamber to send a united message.

“We hope the response of the Security Council will be swift, strong and resolute,” Kenzo Oshima, the Japanese representative to the UN, said.

President Bush called on North Korea last night to “verifiably abandon” its weapons programmes. He said that the apparent failure of the long-range Taepodong 2 missile, which fizzled 42 seconds after lift-off, did not diminish the urgency of pushing North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons programme.

“One thing we have learnt is that the rocket didn’t stay up for very long,” he said. “It tumbled into the sea. It doesn’t diminish my desire to solve this problem.” He said that top US officials were working with other nations to coax Pyongyang back to the multinational talks.

Japan’s proposal, invoking the “enforcement provisions” of Chapter VII of the UN Charter, would require that North Korea, “immediately cease the development, testing, deployment and proliferation of ballistic missiles”. The draft resolution would outlaw “the transfer of financial resources, items, materials, goods and technology to end users that could contribute to [North Korea’s] missile and other weapons of mass destruction programs”.

The text would also call for North Korea to return to the six-party talks, which it has been boycotting in protest at an American crackdown on counterfeiting and other alleged financial crimes.

But China and Russia, which hold veto power on the 15- nation council, quickly signalled their opposition to sanctions and called for action to be limited to a non-binding statement, rather than a resolution.

“Thirteen delegations were in favour of a resolution and two delegations have recommended that a presidential statement would be more appropriate,” Jean-Marc de La Sablière, the French ambassador who holds the council presidency, said.

Vitali Churkin, Russia’s UN envoy, suggested that his Government, while particularly concerned by information that some missile fragments may have fallen near Russian territory, did not envisage any punitive measures. “The goal should be the resumption of the six-party talks and the ultimate diplomatic solution.”

Wang Guangya, the Chinese ambassador, cited the precedent of the Security Council’s response to North Korea’s 1998 test-firing of a Taepodong 1 missile that flew over Japan. Then the council issued a statement expressing “regret” over the missile launch, which “poses harm to the fishing and shipping activities in the region”.

North Korea remained defiant. “Maintenance of peace in our country is entirely made possible by our strong war deterrent,” a commentator on the state-run Korean Central Broadcasting Station said.

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