China, Russia and South Korea, as well as humanitarian groups, want sanctions relaxed, but experts urge maintaining pressure until Pyongyang takes concrete steps toward denuclearization
Washington faces mounting pressure from China, Russia and South Korea, as well as humanitarian groups, to ease sanctions on North Korea as the Trump administration’s denuclearization talks with Pyongyang have hit a snag.
Washington’s talks with Pyongyang stalled last week when North Korea abruptly canceled a scheduled meeting with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo amid U. S. efforts to maintain sanctions while engaging in diplomatic negotiations with the country.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in is expected to bring up the issue of relaxing North Korean sanctions when he meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping during their scheduled meeting at the sidelines of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Papua New Guinea on Saturday as an attempt to revive the stagnant denuclearization talks.
On Thursday, Vice President Mike Pence said President Donald Trump is expected to ask Xi to continue enforcing sanctions on North Korea when he meets with him later this month at the Group of 20 meeting in Buenos Aires.
Sanctions eased?
The U. S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission said in its annual report released this week that China appears to have eased implementing sanctions on North Korea .
Last week, U. S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley rejected the Russian request to ease sanctions on North Korea during a closed-door U. N. Security Council meeting called by Russia.
Haley said North Korea still has “their facilities, they have still not allowed inspectors to go and inspect the nuclear facility or the ballistic missile facility. And as long as that’s happening, we need to stay the course.”
Calls for easing sanctions on North Korea also come from humanitarian groups, a move that could lead China, Russia and South Korea to pressure the United States, Ken Gause, director of the International Affairs Group, said.
In October, a group of U. S.-based nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) sent a letter to Trump requesting him to “modify [the U. S.] sanctions regulations” and ease the travel ban against North Korea “to allow timely delivery of humanitarian aid and other NGO engagement” with the country.
