It took more than a week but the UN Security Council agreed Monday to officially scold North Korea for its missile test (without detailing whether it was a missile or satellite launch, as Pyongyang alleges the latter).

For punishment, the Security Council largely insisted upon the enforcement of past punishments. Ergo, the 15-nation council urged the enforcement of sanctions adopted after North Korea's 2006 nuclear test. The statement, drafted by the United States and China, promises that it will offer a bit more punishment within the month by banning some North Korean exports and freezing some banking assets.

A presidential statement is not binding, like a UN resolution. But UN members are supposed to follow a statement's directives.

At issue is Resolution 1718. Passed in October 2006, in a rare moment when China and Russia allowed for a unanimous Security Council action against North Korea, the resolution forbid North Korea from further nuclear or ballistic missile tests.  The statement specifies that the recent missile test was a violation of 1718. That's a small rhetorical victory for Japan and the United States, as the language is stronger than China would have preferred. Yet Japan had wanted a council resolution, which is binding though clearly, as 1718 demonstrated, quite often still a bark without bite.

Monday's statement will prove little more than symbolic. The international community is depending upon the six-party talks--North Korea, China, Russia, Japan, South Korea and the United States--to corral North Korea, which the UN has proven incapable of containing.

The statement will likely be formally adopted Monday afternoon. It demands North Korea cease further launches, just as the stronger resolution had more than two years ago.