US effort to impose tougher UN sanctions on North Korea blocked by China, Russia

China and Russia on Thursday blocked an effort to impose tougher sanctions on North Korea at the United Nations Security Council that was led by the U. S. after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un conducted a spate of missile tests this year, including the launch of several intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Both China and Russia hold veto powers at the U. N. Security Council, which they exercised after the introduction of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) — North Korea’s official name — for the tests with more restrictive sanctions.

China’s Ambassador to the U. N., Zhang Jun, said at the UN meeting on Thursday that “the reason why today’s draft resolution failed to pass” was because the U.S. had refused to accept proposals other than implementing sanctions.

“China’s voting position is based on our assessment as to whether a proposal contributes to a solution,” Zhang said. “Perhaps some people wanted nothing but this situation, based on their cynical intentions.”

The U. S. and South Korea led the push in recent weeks for the U.N. to impose tougher sanctions on North Korea following more than 15 missile launches from the regime this year. If the effort had passed, the U.N. would have toughened sanctions on North Korea for the first time since 2017.

Following President Biden’s visit to East Asia over the weekend, North Korea fired at least three ballistic missiles off its east coast Wednesday morning local time.

Tensions between Russia and the U. S. have mounted... (Read more)

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