US, China Agree to Sanction North Korea on Nuclear Program
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The US and China agreed Thursday to a UN resolution that diplomats said would impose significant new sanctions on North Korea in response to its recent nuclear and missile tests.
American Ambassador Samantha Power on Thursday will submit a draft resolution to the Security Council, the 15-member body that would impose the penalties, following nearly six weeks of negotiations that strained relations between Washington and Beijing, these people said.
“We look forward to working with the Council on a strong and comprehensive response to [North Korea’s] latest series of tests aimed at advancing their nuclear weapons program,” said Kurtis Cooper, acting US spokesman at the UN mission.
One Security Council envoy said the new sanctions were significant and go far beyond the penalties already in place against North Korea. Diplomats wouldn’t discuss their details beyond saying that it could impose a maritime blockade and could target individuals acting as intermediaries in the nuclear program as well as military personnel.
The new resolution “includes multiple elements that are much stronger and effective than the past,” a spokesman for South Korea’s foreign ministry said in a press briefing in Seoul on Thursday, the Wall Street Journal reported.
A series of sanctions imposed on North Korea by the UN since Pyongyang’s first nuclear bomb test in 2006 have tried to interrupt the nation’s arms trade by blacklisting specific people and companies. The UN has also tried to prevent flows of funds for North Korea’s weapons development and called on member states to inspect cargo on ships that might be used for weaponry.
The UN sanctions have also banned imports of luxury goods into North Korea, a move aimed at imposing direct costs for the government's leadership over its nuclear program.
The Security Council condemned North Korea when it announced in January that it tested a nuclear bomb that UN later said reflected advances in the country’s development program.
The US and many other nations say North Korea’s six long-range rocket launches since 1998 have been part of a program to develop inter-continental ballistic missiles. North Korea disputes this and says it’s working on a space program. The latest launch and one in late 2012 each put a satellite into orbit.
The Chinese government didn’t immediately comment, but on Wednesday warned that a Security Council resolution was only a temporary fix.
“China would like to emphasize that the Security Council resolution cannot provide a fundamental solution to the Korean nuclear issue,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said. “To really do that, we need to return to the track of dialogue and negotiation.”
The US imposed its own sanctions this month in response to the North Korean tests. The Chinese spokeswoman said China has proposed parallel talks over North Korea’s denuclearization and the drafting of a possible peace agreement to replace the existing armistice signed in 1953.
