That, coupled with a delay in formally launching a joint Korea-U.S. working group on THAAD, raised speculation that the U.S. was backing down on the issue in the face of China’s intense opposition to THAAD and in exchange for Beijing’s cooperation in U.S. efforts to adopt a strong U.N. Security Council resolution imposing sanctions on Pyongyang.
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“After the Security Council sanctions land a punch, there is a means for North Korea to come out toward dialogue”, Cha Du-hyeon said.
“We still continue to believe that it’s important for the global community to react in a robust fashion to the most recent provocations by the North, that it’s important that the worldwide community stay unified on a more robust set of measures”, he said.
Other proposed measures include a ban on all supplies of aviation and rocket fuel to North Korea, a requirement for states to expel North Korean diplomats engaging in illicit activities, and blacklisting 17 North Korean individuals and 12 entities, including the National Aerospace Development Agency or “NADA”, the body responsible for February’s rocket launch.
North Korea’s women’s soccer team drew 1-1 with South Korea in Japan, in its first game of Asian qualifying for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics on Monday.
The six-party talks, which involve South Korea, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), China, the United States, Russia and Japan, have been stalled since late 2008.
Both tests were in violation of a series of resolutions barring North Korea from developing nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.
After the draft resolution was shared with council members, United Nations diplomats said they expected a vote as early as Saturday.
He met with visiting Chinese Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Affairs Wu Dawei, who called for cooperation on new sanctions against North Korea according to the South’s ministry.
Luxury watches, snowmobiles, recreational watercraft such as sea-doos and sports equipment would be added to the list of luxury items banned from sale to North Korea, building on a previous resolution targeting Pyongyang’s elites.
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Darusman, in a report last month, asked the United Nations to officially notify the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, that he may be investigated for crimes against humanity, in line with the findings of a landmark 2014 UN report.
