Thankfully, the only member of the six-party talks that is likely to cause
North Korea to exercise restraint in testing its Taepodong-2
missile is warning Kim Jong-Il about his foolishness:

HONG
KONG — China joined the US, Japan, France, South Korea and Australia in
telling North Korea to refrain from testing a long-range missile, saying it
may damage six-state talks on ending North Korea’s self-declared nuclear programme.
China had told the North Koreans that there are “a lot of concerns”, Wang Guangya,
China’s envoy to the United Nations, said in New York. “If they do it, then
the political atmosphere among the major parties will be very negative,” Wang
said. “You cannot say this action is a violation of this or that convention,
but it would not be a constructive move.”

It might not violate 'this or that convention', but it does seem to violate
the intent of the 2002 DPRK-Japan
Pyongyang Declaration, which Pyongyang reaffirmed in 2004:

"The DPRK side expressed its will to extend its moratorium on missile
tests beyond 2003 in the spirit of the declaration."

The United States meanwhile has wisely
refused to engage North Korea in direct bilateral talks.

Crossposted from WILLisms.com