US sets Thursday vote on new UN sanctions on North Korea
New York: The United States called for a vote Thursday on a UN resolution that would impose tougher sanctions on North Korea for its recent launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles that can be used to deliver nuclear weapons.
The US Mission to the United Nations has been working on the draft Security Council resolution for several months. But the measure faces opposition from North Korea’s neighbors China and Russia, which both said at a council meeting on May 11 that they wanted to see new talks and not more punishment for the North.
The United States, which holds the council presidency this month, announced plans for the vote Wednesday.
Whether China and Russia will use their veto power to block the measure or abstain remains to be seen.
“We don’t think a resolution as proposed by the US can solve any problem,” China’s UN Mission said in a statement Wednesday evening.
China proposed in recent weeks that the US consider a presidential statement instead of a resolution, which “was supported by many delegations but fell on deaf ears of the US,” the statement said. “They know what is the best way for de-escalation but simply resist it.”
The announcement of the vote and the US release of the 14-page draft resolution came hours after South Korea reported that North Korea test-launched a suspected ICBM and two shorter-range missiles. It also followed Tuesday’s conclusion of US President Joe Biden’s Asia trip that included stops in South Korea and Japan, where he reaffirmed the US commitment to defend both allies in the face of the North’s nuclear threat.
Wednesday’s launches were the 17th round of missile firings this year by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the country’s official name. Experts have said North Korea wants to move ahead with its push to expand its arsenal and apply more pressure on its rivals to wrest sanctions relief and other concessions.
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