US, China agree UN sanctions draft on North Korea

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Yonhap / EPA South Korean soldiers stand guard in the demilitarized zone at the border between North and South Korea on Feb. 27. By Louis Charbonneau and Michelle Nichols, ReutersThe United States and China reached a deal that "significantly expands"  U.N. sanctions on North Korea for its third nuclear test, eliciting a  renewed threat by Pyongyang on Tuesday to scrap an armistice that ended  the 1950-53 Korean War.

North Korea also said it would sever a  military "hotline" with the United States if South Korea and Washington  pressed on with two-month-long war games.

The proposed new  measures would explicitly ban the sale to Pyongyang of items coveted by  North Korea's ruling elite, such as yachts and racing cars, a council  diplomat said on condition of anonymity. The draft also  aims to make it more difficult for Pyongyang to move funds around the  world.


China's U.N. ambassador, Li Baodong, told Reuters the  15-nation Security Council was aiming for a Thursday vote on a draft  sanctions resolution, which was agreed to by Washington and Beijing  after three weeks of negotiations.

China is North Korea's  closest ally and has a history of resisting tough sanctions on its  neighbor. The Chinese envoy made clear that Beijing was displeased by  North Korea's Feb. 12 nuclear test - its third since 2006 - though  he cautioned against responding too harshly.

"We support action  taken by the council, but we think that action should be proportionate,  should be balanced and focused on bringing down the tension and focusing  on the diplomatic track," Li said.Dr. Sung-Yoon Lee, a professor of Korean studies at the Fletcher School at Tufts University, provides insight into how sanctions would impact alleged illicit business that benefits the North Korean regime."A strong signal must be sent out that a nuclear test is against the will of the international community," he added.

U.S.  Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice said after a closed-door  meeting of the Security Council that the new draft resolution "builds  up, strengthens and significantly expands the scope of the strong U.N.  sanctions already in place."

"The sanctions contained in this  resolution will significantly impede the ability of North Korea to  develop further its illicit nuclear and ballistic missile programs," she  said.

She said the new sanctions would target "the illicit  activities of North Korean diplomatic personnel, North Korean banking  relationships, (and) illicit transfers of bulk cash."

"North Korea will be subject to some of the toughest sanctions imposed by the United Nations," she told reporters.

The  council diplomat said that once the resolution is approved, states will  be obligated to expel any North Korean agent of a U.N.-blacklisted  entity and will be required to inspect suspicious North Korean cargo on  their territory. Such inspections are currently voluntary under existing  U.N. rules.

It will toughen up rules for the oft-flouted ban on  luxury goods for North Korea and urge states to exercise vigilance over  North Korean diplomats to be sure they are not engaging in illicit  activities, the diplomat said.

He added that the agreed U.S.-Chinese draft resolution was unlikely to undergo any major changes before it is approved.

Russian  Ambassador Vitaly Churkin was quoted by Russian media as saying Moscow  was pleased the draft resolution leaves the door open to a renewal of  the stalled six-party aid-for-disarmament talks between the two Koreas,  the United States, China, Russia and Japan.

Threats renewed

Developments in New York led to a new volley of bellicose rhetoric from Pyongyang.

"We  will completely nullify the Korean armistice," the North's KCNA news  agency said, quoting the Korean People's Army Supreme Command spokesman.Slideshow: North Korea's young leader, Kim Jong UnThe youngest son of Kim Jong Il succeeded his late father in 2011, becoming the third member of his family to rule the unpredictable and reclusive communist state.Launch slideshowThe spokesman called the U.S.-South Korean military exercise "a  systematic act of destruction aimed at the Korean armistice." The two  Koreas remain technically at war since the 1950-53 conflict ended in a  truce rather than a peace treaty.

About 200,000 Korean troops  and 10,000 U.S. forces are expected to be mobilized for their defensive  "Foal Eagle" exercise, under the Combined Forces Command, which began on  March 1 and goes until the end of April. Separate computer-simulated  drills called "Key Resolve" start on March 11.

North Korea,  officially called the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), has  made much of hotlines with the South and the United States over the  years, but has not been known ever to have used them in times of  increased tension.

The latest threats were reminiscent of previous periods of high tension on the Korean peninsula.

In  1996, under pressure from severe famine after floods and in the midst  of maneuvering with the United States over its nuclear program,  Pyongyang announced it would no longer abide by the armistice and sent  troops into the demilitarized zone between the North and the South.

In  2009, after carrying out an underground nuclear test, Pyongyang  announced again that it no longer considered itself bound by the terms  of the armistice.

North Korea's previous nuclear tests, in 2006  and 2009, prompted the Security Council to impose sanctions that  included a ban on the import of nuclear and missile technology, an arms  embargo and a ban on luxury goods imports.

There are 17 North  Korean entities, including banks and trading companies, on the U.N.  blacklist, and nine individuals, all linked to North Korea's nuclear and  missile programs. U.N. diplomats say many more entities and individuals  could be subject to international asset freezes and travel bans.

In  January, the Security Council passed a resolution expanding U.N.  sanctions against North Korea due to its December rocket launch and  warned Pyongyang against further launches or nuclear tests. North Korea  responded by threatening a new atomic detonation, which it then carried  out the following month.

Beijing has supported all previous  sanctions resolutions against Pyongyang but only after working hard to  dilute proposed measures in negotiations on the texts. It has been  concerned that tougher sanctions could further weaken the North's  economy and prompt refugees to flood into China.

U.S. Secretary  of State John Kerry said on Tuesday that Washington hoped North Korea  would engage in negotiations to resolve world concerns instead of  threatening to scrap the 50-year-old truce with the South.

"Rather  than threaten to abrogate, the world would be better served if they  (North Korea) would engage in legitimate dialogue," Kerry said during a  visit to Qatar.

"Our preference is not to brandish threats, but for peaceful negotiations," he added.

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This story was originally published on Tue Mar 5, 2013 9:51 AM EST

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