Start GRASP/Korea North Korean missiles may be too advanced for more sanctions, say analysts

North Korean missiles may be too advanced for more sanctions, say analysts

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SEOUL (BLOOMBERG) – It may already be too late for sanctions to halt North Korea’s missile programme..
SEOUL (BLOOMBERG) – It may already be too late for sanctions to halt North Korea’s missile programme.
That is the view of analysts who have watched Mr Kim Jong Un accelerate progress on North Korea’s decades-long quest for a functioning intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) .
Last Friday’s (July 28) launch, the second in a matter of weeks, showed that it is just a matter of time before the North Korean leader has a full-fledged ICBM that could hit any part of the United States with a nuclear weapon.
As North Korea’s economy holds up, and the regime moves beyond the startup costs of its nuclear programme, efforts to choke off its finances become less effective, the analysts say.
That leaves US President Donald Trump with limited options.
A military strike could have devastating consequences for the Korean peninsula. At the same time the US is loathe to make the concessions that Mr Kim demands to get him to the negotiating table.
„No amount of sanctions will stop Kim Jong Un from having his ICBM, “ said Dr Andrei Lankov, a professor of Korean studies at Kookmin University in Seoul, who has written several books on North Korea.
„As long as the Kim family stays in power – and they’re likely to stay in power for a long time – denuclearisation is not possible. Period.“
The US has said it would not call another meeting of the United Nations Security Council after the latest missile test, with Ambassador Nikki Haley saying another resolution would be pointless.
The US and Japan both blame China and Russia – veto-wielding members of the Security Council that oppose more sanctions – for propping up Mr Kim’s regime.
Mr Trump, who blasted China on Twitter for doing „NOTHING“ on North Korea, is considering trade restrictions and sanctions against the world’s second-biggest economy, Politico reported on Monday.
In June, his administration sanctioned a regional Chinese bank, a shipping company and two Chinese citizens over dealings with North Korea.
The US President is keeping „all options on the table“ when it comes to North Korea, White House spokesman Sarah Sanders said on Tuesday at a briefing.

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