Whether it's North Korea or Iran, sanctions won't work | Simon Jenkins

UN security council threats against Pyongyang and Tehran act like an elixir to the regimes, while their people continue to suffer

North Korea has set off a third nuclear test explosion. It has done so in defiance of the UN, America, Japan and even, reportedly, its sponsor, China. It has said to hell with everyone, in a brutal comment on western economic sanctions.

The UN security council met yesterday and Washington threatened "significant consequences" – code nowadays for "tighter sanctions"....