The United States on Friday presented to the UN Security Council a draft resolution toughening sanctions on North Korea, aiming to deprive Pyongyang of $1bn in export revenue, a council diplomat said. The council is expected to vote on Saturday on the measures that include a…
The United States on Friday presented to the UN Security Council a draft resolution toughening sanctions on North Korea, aiming to deprive Pyongyang of $1bn in export revenue, a council diplomat said.
The council is expected to vote on Saturday on the measures that include a ban on exports of coal, iron and iron ore, lead and lead ore, as well as seafood by the cash-starved state.
The US has been negotiating the tougher measures with China, North Korea’s main trading partner and ally, since Pyongyang launched its first intercontinental ballistic missile on July 4.
A second launch on July 28 further raised alarm about Pyongyang’s drive to develop a missile capable of hitting the US mainland.
If implemented by all countries, the ban could deprive Pyongyang of roughly a third of its export earnings estimated at $3bn per year, according to a diplomat familiar with the negotiations.
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The draft text would also prevent North Korea from increasing the number of workers it sends abroad, prohibit all new joint ventures and ban new investment in the current joint companies.
The diplomat indicated that China and Russia were prepared to support the draft resolution, which would be the seventh set of UN sanctions imposed on North Korea since it first carried out a nuclear test in 2006.
