McCain knocks Russia, China response

HONG KONG, April 6 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., called on Russia and China Monday to back punitive sanctions against North Korea for test-firing a rocket.

McCain, on a visit to Asia, admonished North Korea for ignoring a U.N. Security Council resolution barring rocket-related activities, the Voice of America reported.

"We all know that the major influence on North Korea is China," McCain said. "Everybody knows that. And the Chinese have been, I think, less than committed to restraining North Korea's activities."

The United States, Japan and France have condemned the launch but, in an emergency meeting Sunday, the U.N. Security Council failed to agree on a response to North Korea's actions.

North Korea said it launched a communications satellite but Western nations said they feared it was a missile test-firing. North Korea also said its satellite was successfully launched into space, but intelligence indicated the launch failed and that debris fell into the sea.

Both Russia and China voiced restraint in responding to North Korea -- a response McCain said was predictable.

"Their statements don't overreact," McCain said. "The problem is the North Koreans have acted. They have acted in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions, which should have bound them not to engage in this activity."

McCain, the GOP 2008 presidential candidate, and Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., are on a trip that includes stops in Vietnam, Japan and China.