UN hits North Korea with toughest ever sanctions

China drops support for dictatorship in unanimous Security Council vote to boycott regime, limit coal exports, after second nuclear test

Members of the UN Security Council vote during a meeting on sanctions against North Korea on  March 2, 2016 at the United Nations in New York. (AFP/Don Emmert)
Members of the UN Security Council vote during a meeting on sanctions against North Korea on March 2, 2016 at the United Nations in New York. (AFP/Don Emmert)

UNITED NATIONS, United States (AFP) — The United Nations Security Council on Wednesday unanimously imposed its toughest ever sanctions on North Korea, placing a cap on its key coal exports after the state’s defiant nuclear tests.

The new sanctions resolution, which was spearheaded by the United States and came after three months of tough negotiations with fellow veto-wielding council member China, passed by a 15-0 vote.

The resolution demands that North Korea “abandon all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs” and takes aim at the state’s exports of coal — its top external revenue source.

Under the resolution, North Korea will be restricted from exporting beyond 7.5 million tons of coal in 2017, a reduction of 62 percent from 2015.

Samantha Power, the US ambassador to the United Nations, said that the resolution would strip the regime of more than $700 million (NIS 2.7 billion) in hard currency, dramatically reducing the money it can spend on nuclear and ballistic weapons.

US Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power attends a UN Security Council emergency meeting on the situation in Syria, at UN Headquarters in New York, September 25, 2016. (AFP Photo/Bryan R. Smith)
US Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power attends a UN Security Council emergency meeting on the situation in Syria, at UN Headquarters in New York, September 25, 2016. (AFP Photo/Bryan R. Smith)

Power, speaking to reporters with her counterparts from US allies South Korea and Japan, called the resolution “the strongest sanctions regime the Security Council has imposed on any country in more than a generation.”

“So long as the DPRK makes the choice it has made, which is to pursue the path of violations instead of the path of dialogue, we will continue to work to increase the pressure and defend ourselves and allies from this threat,” said Power, referring to the North by its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

China joins in pressure

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged all countries to enforce the resolution.

“It sends an unequivocal message that the DPRK must cease further provocative actions and comply fully with its international obligations,” said Ban, who has flirted with entering politics in his native South Korea after his term ends in a month.

Ban said he was still committed to “sincere dialogue” to resolve the nuclear issue and stood by calls to provide humanitarian assistance to ease the suffering of ordinary North Koreans.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon gestures upon his arrival at Cyprus Peace Talks on November 7, 2016 in Mont-Pelerin, Western Switzerland. (AFP/Pool/Fabrice Coffrini)
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon gestures upon his arrival at Cyprus Peace Talks on November 7, 2016 in Mont-Pelerin, Western Switzerland. (AFP/Pool/Fabrice Coffrini)

China is North Korea’s primary ally and one of the few markets for its coal.

China has traditionally protected North Korea diplomatically, believing that Kim Jong Un’s regime is preferable to its collapse, but has increasingly grown frustrated by the neighboring state’s defiance.

China’s UN ambassador, Liu Jieyi, reiterated that Beijing “strongly opposes” the North Korean nuclear tests — but also made a veiled criticism of joint exercises between the United States and South Korea.

“Certain parties increase their military presence and scale up military exercises, thus intensifying the confrontation,” he said at the Council.

“This situation must be changed as soon as possible,” he said.

Expanding breadth of sanctions

The UN Security Council resolution condemns “in the strongest terms” North Korea’s test on September 9 — the communist state’s second just this year.

In this Oct. 10, 2015 file photo, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un salutes at a parade in Pyongyang, North Korea. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E, File)
In this Oct. 10, 2015 file photo, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un salutes at a parade in Pyongyang, North Korea. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E, File)

Pyongyang claimed at the time it had made major strides in its efforts to fit a miniaturized warhead on a rocket that could reach the United States.

North Korea insists that its nuclear weapons are a deterrent to US “aggression” and has brushed aside earlier sanctions, which have notably targeted its weapons exports and access to financial markets.

In addition to coal, the Security Council banned North Korea from exporting certain metals including copper, silver, zinc and nickel that bring in an estimated $100 million (NIS 385 million) a year, as well as statues and helicopters.

The Security Council also added 10 companies and 11 individuals, including the former North Korean ambassadors to Egypt and Myanmar, to a blacklist under which their travel is restricted and assets frozen due to their alleged role in Pyongyang’s military programs.

The outgoing US administration of President Barack Obama has generally favored dialogue over conflict but has taken a tough line on North Korea after Pyongyang rebuffed early overtures.

Power said that the latest resolution was groundbreaking in that it also took North Korea to task for its human rights violations.

In another rare clause, the resolution threatens North Korea with some losses of diplomatic rights at the United Nations if it violates resolutions.

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