A U.N. Security Council vote on the toughest sanctions on North Korea in two decades was postponed until this morning at Russia’s request, France said Tuesday.
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At the White House, President Barack Obama welcomed the United Nations action.
The expanded sanctions will require all cargoes going to and from North Korea to be inspected, and North Koreans operating in Syria, Iran and Vietnam to be blacklisted. But it stresses that the new measures are not meant to have “adverse humanitarian consequences” for civilians, the majority of whom face economic hardships and food shortages.
A source in China close to the issue told Daily NK on February 28 that managers of North Korean restaurants in Shenyang and Dandong are most uneasy about the prospect of more global sanctions, particularly vis a vis China.
The draft resolution would ban the export of coal, iron and iron ore that is being used to fund North Korea’s nuclear or ballistic missile programs., and prohibit all exports of gold, titanium ore, vanadium ore and rare earth minerals. “The resolution has a ban on the transfer to North Korea of any item that could directly contribute to the operational capabilities of its armed forces, such as trucks”.
A South Korean soldier stands near the loudspeakers near the border area between South Korea and North Korea in Yeoncheon, South Korea, Friday, Jan. 8, 2016.
When asked whether the resolution would make a difference in North Korea’s behavior, the official expressed confidence.
Japanese Ambassador Motohide Yoshikawa described the resolution as “ground-breaking” but stressed that “the heart of the matter now is implementation” of the sanctions by China, North Korea’s largest trading partner, and other countries.
Over the past 20 years, North Korea has conducted four nuclear tests and launched six long-range rockets, all in violation of Security Council resolutions. BAN ON LUXURY GOODS- Adds to the list of banned items luxury watches, recreational watercrafts such as Sea-Doos, snowmobiles valued at more than $2,000, items of lead crystal and recreational sports equipment.
North Korea has been under United Nations sanctions since 2006, as a result of previous nuclear tests and rocket launches.
The United Nations Security Council unanimously agreed to dramatically tighten sanctions on North Korea today as the global community aims to punish Pyongyang for a recent nuclear test and a missile launch.
“The UN Security Council reaffirms its decision that [North Korea] shall abandon all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programmes in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner”, the resolution says.
The nuclear test and missile launch outraged the Security Council and anxious neighboring nations.
North Korea has ignored many demands, and tried to circumvent others.
The official North Korean news agency KCNA said in a commentary on Monday its “position as a satellite manufacturer and launcher will never change (and)… space development is not something to be given up because of someone’s “sanctions”. It was condemned by much of the world as a test of banned missile technology.
China’s ambassador renewed Beijing’s opposition to the THAAD missile system, arguing that it undermines global efforts to re-start talks on a final settlement on the Korean peninsula.
Recommended: Kim 101: How well do you know North Korea’s leaders? .
He urged North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons for the sake of all Koreans.
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As a way out and in order to earn their living, they are compelled to continue to fabricate and sell groundless testimonies by trying to make them sound as shocking as possible.
