It is sort of rare for a Secretary General -- and Ban Ki Moon in particular -- to say that the Security Council should take action on a particular issue. (The M.O. tends to be extreme deference to the Security Council.) So it was fairly notable that this morning, in reference to North Korea's alleged sinking of a South Korean naval ship, that Ban told press: "I'm confident that the council, in fulfilling its responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, will take measures appropriate to the gravity of the situation."