UN: China and Russia block US demand for sanctions against five North Koreans

In response to North Korea’s recent missile strikes, China and Russia blocked at the UN on Thursday a request made last week by the United States that five North Koreans be living in Russia and the other four be living on Chinese soil.

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The 15 members of the Security Council gave GMT until 8:00 pm to decide on the US request. The ban comes two hours before a new closed-door Security Council meeting on North Korea called for by Washington. The ambassadors told AFP that Russia had subsequently opposed the US proposal.

Asked about the opposition to Beijing and Moscow before the council meeting – the second in 11 days – US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield denounced Pyongyang for providing a “blank check”.

“We have these sanctions for a reason. The fact that a member state opposes the imposition of sanctions (…) gives, in my opinion, a blank check to North Korea,” he said, adding that he considered it “important”. Send “integrated message” to this country. Should stop its tests.

According to UN rules, the Sino-Russian siege will last six months. At the end of the term, a member of the Security Council can extend it to three months, after which the idea disappears from the UN table an extra day before.

Along with Beijing, Moscow has long sought relief from international sanctions for humanitarian purposes, without increasing pressure on Pyongyang.

On January 12, Washington authorized five North Koreans, and then the UN, which is responsible for North Korea. It asked the Sanctions Committee to extend its personal activities to these five.

Any decision of the Sanctions Committee must be made by consensus of the 15 members of the Security Council, all of whom are members.

Beijing rejected the declaration

The five North Korean nationals (property freeze, travel ban) identified by the Treasury and authorized by Washington are Choe Myong Hyon, based in Russia, and Sim Kwang Sok, Kim Song Hun, Kang Chol Hak and Pyon Kwang Chol, both based in China. .

All five have been accused by Washington of being involved in Pyongyang’s weapons of mass destruction.

The Chinese diplomatic mission did not immediately respond to a request for comment. On Monday, China reopened its border with North Korea for freight traffic after a two-year interruption due to the Kovit-19 epidemic.

Russian Deputy Ambassador to the UN Dmitry Polyansky told the AFP: “We need more time to study the data.

Last week, the United States, Albania, France, Ireland and the United Kingdom, along with Japan, jointly called on North Korea to “avoid any instability” after failing to reach a consensus on the Security Council report at its first meeting. Action after the launch of the hypersonic missile.

North Korea has retaliated with a new ban.

On Thursday, the same countries, Brazil and the United Arab Emirates, along with two new non-permanent members of the Security Council, issued a joint statement urging members of the organization to show a “united stand to condemn”.

According to diplomats, the United States proposed to its allies a short notice during their new meeting, but China, according to the same sources, refused.

The three-sentence text, obtained by the AFP, was limited to reminding that “the last North Korean firing using ballistic missile technology violates Security Council resolutions.” He also called on North Korea to “fulfill its obligations to the Security Council and to open a dialogue to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula.”

Earlier on Thursday, Pyongyang threatened to resume testing of its long-range nuclear and ballistic missiles during a meeting of the Political Bureau headed by Kim Jong Un, which is preparing for a “long-term confrontation” with the United States.

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