International solidarity in the face of North Korea’s nuclear threat crumbled Tuesday as Russia rebuffed U. S. calls for new U. N. sanctions and Washington promised its allies advanced weaponry. Last month, Pyongyang’s latest missile test drew unanimous condemnation from the U…
International solidarity in the face of North Korea’s nuclear threat crumbled Tuesday as Russia rebuffed U. S. calls for new U. N. sanctions and Washington promised its allies advanced weaponry.
Last month, Pyongyang’s latest missile test drew unanimous condemnation from the U. N. Security Council — but Sunday’s apparent hydrogen bomb detonation revealed an underlying diplomatic rift.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin declared Washington’s demand for a vote on new U. N. sanctions to be « useless, » while U. S. President Donald Trump promised Japan and South Korea new advanced arms.
And, while China may be concerned about a threat to the military balance in the region, the North Korean regime itself remained undaunted, vowing to send Washington « more gift packages. »
The disagreements appeared to be splitting the world into familiar opposing diplomatic camps, with China and Russia resisting pressure for more action from London, Tokyo and Washington.
Japanese officials, meanwhile, warned that Sunday’s test may have been more successful than initially feared and involved a bomb eight times more powerful than that which destroyed Hiroshima
Washington’s tough-talking ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, is expected to unveil yet another new U. N. sanctions package targeting Kim Jong-Un’s regime this week.
She had demanded a vote as early as Monday — while Washington is in parallel considering slapping secondary sanctions on Russian and Chinese firms and finance houses that have dealings with the North.
