KOREA UPDATE - AT 7:21 A.M. ET:  From the Washington Post:

TOKYO, May 28 -- The joint command for South Korean and U.S. forces on the Korean peninsula raised its alert level Thursday in response to an extraordinary week of truculence from North Korea.

At the United Nations, diplomats are pushing for sanctions with teeth against the government of Kim Jong Il. Proposals include freezing assets, banning travel for elites and cutting access to international banks.

Japan and the United States want a new resolution that makes cargo inspections of North Korean vessels "compulsory'' for U.N. members, according to a report by Japan's Kyodo news agency, which cited diplomats in New York. It also said that a trade embargo on all arms, not just large weapons such as battle tanks, has been proposed.

COMMENT:  It's a symbolic act, last done in 2006 after North Korea's last nuclear test.  The key here is the extent to which China and Russia, ostensible allies of North Korea, will go along with stronger sanctions, sanctions tough enough to change the country's behavior.  If that behavior doesn't change, we have to ask ourselves what action, short of military action, will accomplish anything.  If the answer is "no action," Mr. Obama will have a very stark choice.

And Iran is watching.

May 28, 2009