The United Nations Security Council meets to discuss a ballistic missile test by North Korea, Wednesday, at U.N. headquarters. AP-Yonhap

By Nam Hyun-woo

The ability of the United Nations Security Council to contain North Korea's missile and nuclear provocations is being questioned due to repeated failures of sanctions to tame the regime's belligerence.

As the council continues to remain deadlocked on further sanctions as permanent members China and Russia drag their heels, calls are growing for South Korea, the U.S. and Japan to consider unilateral or joint sanctions on the North to achieve better results.

On Oct. 5, the U.N. Security Council held a session to discuss how to handle North Korea's ballistic missile launch over Japan a day earlier, but ended without reaching any agreement on the next step as its permanent members _ the U.S., the U.K., China, Russia and France _ remained miles apart. Each of them has the power to veto a resolution.

The U.S. warned that the council's inability to reach a consensus will end up proving North Korea's resilience to foreign pressure. But Russia blamed the U.S. for prompting North Korea's actions, while China claimed that the real issue is a confrontation between Washington and Pyongyang.

As the council failed again to adopt a resolution condemning the recent provocations, Pyongyang launched two short-range ballistic missiles on Thursday and another two on Sunday. The North has fired 12 missiles since Sept. 23, when the U.S. aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan entered South Korean waters to take part in military exercises.