US: Rudd, Obama swap notes on North Korea
25 Jun 2009 12:40 AM
WASHINGTON, June 24 AFP - Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has spoken with US President Barack Obama about implementing nuclear sanctions against North Korea, the White House said on Wednesday.
The leaders, who met in Washington in March, spoke by telephone as expectations mounted of a new missile test by Pyongyang and the US navy tracks a North Korean ship suspected of carrying missile parts in Southeast Asia.
"They discussed the North Korea nuclear issue, including ways in which the United States and Australia can work together to ensure full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1874," a White House statement said.
"They noted their upcoming July travel to Italy where they will see each other at the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate and discussed ways to cooperate on the Forum's issues."
The UN resolution restricts financial transactions by North Korea and attempts to proliferate weapons of mass destruction and was passed in response to its recent nuclear test.
A US defence official said on Monday that a North Korean ship being tracked by the US destroyer USS John S McCain could be headed for Burma.
The Kang Nam 1 is the first North Korean ship to be monitored since the adoption of the resolution.
