The UN imposed new restrictions on North Korea’s ability to export coal yesterday, the latest attempt by the international community to tighten a sanctions regime that has not halted Pyongyang’s drive towards a nuclear programme.
The 15-member UN Security Council voted unanimously to approve the new sanctions, which could reduce North Korea’s export revenue by as much as a quarter if fully implemented, diplomats said.
The new round of sanctions follows North Korea’s fifth nuclear test in September and a series of missile launches that it has conducted in recent months, which have all added to the momentum behind its nuclear programme.
Amid high uncertainty about how Donald Trump’s administration in the US will approach North Korea, the sanctions coincide with a growing debate in Washington about the need for a different approach towards Pyongyang.
The resolution builds on sanctions earlier in the year that tried to limit North Korea’s exports of commodities, including coal – its main source of hard currency – copper, nickel and silver.
US officials said a clause in the previous sanctions designed to prevent undue suffering by the North Korean people had been used to accelerate coal sales. Under the new rules, a cap has been placed on annual coal exports at 7.5m metric tonnes or about $400m, which would reduce export earnings from coal by 60 per cent.
Samantha Power, US ambassador to the UN, said the resolution imposed “unprecedented measures” on North Korea. “No resolution in New York will persuade Pyongyang to cease its relentless pursuit of nuclear weapons,” she said. “But this resolution imposes unprecedented costs on the DPRK [North Korean] regime for defying the UN’s demands.”
Ban Ki-moon, UN secretary-general, said it was incumbent on members of the Security Council to enforce the new rules. “Sanctions are only as effective as their implementation,” he said.
The impact of the new sanctions will ultimately depend on China’s willingness to apply the new export cap.
Liu Jieyi, China’s ambassador to the UN, said the cap showed the “uniformed stand of the international community against the development by DPRK of its nuclear and ballistic missiles”.
