The list would specify people and organizations in North Korea as targets of major sanctions. When Resolution 1718 was adopted after North Korea conducted a nuclear test in 2006, no list was made out of political consideration.

A government official said, "Considering the positions of China and Russia, it's not easy to reach a new resolution at the UN Security Council if the North keeps insisting that the projectile it plans to launch is a satellite. But there is some consensus that the North's launch of such a projectile would itself constitute a violation of Resolution 1718, even if it is a satellite." He said a "realistic alternative" would be to step up sanctions according to the resolution, which have so far been nominal.

Resolution 1718 obliges all UN member countries to impose an arms embargo, travel ban and financial freeze on North Korea. Of the three kinds of sanctions, arms embargo and financial freeze particularly oblige the member countries to specify "target individuals and organizations" under Article 12 (e) of the resolution. But political considerations including Washington-Pyongyang negotiations over the resumption of the six-party nuclear talks in 2006 meant no country made such a list of targets.

A diplomatic source said it would be possible to put considerable pressure on the North without having to take separate measures because a list of targets including senior North Korean officials would have "an enormous substantial and symbolic impact on the North."

Some countries such as Japan are reportedly enthusiastic about the idea, but much depends on the position China and Russia take. Another diplomatic source said, "No full list was made even after the North's nuclear test back then, so any countries can make such a list to respond to the North's launch of a long-range missile if they join efforts with the U.S."

(englishnews@chosun.com )