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Russia delays US-penned North Korea sanctions vote at UN
Russia on Tuesday again delayed a requested United Nations vote on new sanctions against North Korea in response to its recent nuclear test and rocket launch.
After the U.S. mission to the U.N. requested a vote for Tuesday afternoon, Russia demanded a procedural review of the resolution, pushing back the vote to Wednesday morning. Russia had already delayed the vote over the weekend, asking for more time to study the lengthy text and reportedly suggesting some changes.
The proposal, drafted by the U.S. and China, would require every U.N. member to inspect all cargo heading to and from North Korea for illicit goods.
Some western diplomats told Fox News the delay can be attributed to Kremlin muscle flexing, signaling to Washington and Beijing that they may agree on the resolution’s text, but ultimately both governments must fully include Moscow in considerations.
China and Russia, both permanent members of the Security Council, historically have been North Korea’s allies, often delaying and blocking action that would punish their Cold War partner.
The White House announced last week that Beijing was on board to let the U.S. resolution pass.
Russia delays US-penned North Korea sanctions vote at UN | Fox News
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U.N. delays vote on tough new North Korea sanctions at Russia's request
The United Nations Security Council delayed until Wednesday a vote on a U.S.-Chinese drafted resolution that would dramatically expand U.N. sanctions on North Korea after Russia said it needed more time to review the text, diplomats said.
The vote, which had been scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, is now planned for 10 a.m. (1500 GMT) on Wednesday, the diplomats said on condition of anonymity.
"Subsequent to the United States' request ... to schedule a council vote for this afternoon, Russia invoked a procedural 24-hour review of the resolution, so the vote will be on Wednesday," the U.S. mission to the United Nations said in a statement to reporters.
The expanded sanctions, if adopted, would require inspections of all cargo going to and from North Korea and blacklisting North Koreans active in Syria, Iran and Vietnam.
After nearly two months of bilateral negotiations that at one point involved U.S. President Barack Obama and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, China agreed to support the unusually tough measures intended to persuade its close ally North Korea to abandon its atomic weapons program.
Last week the United States presented the 15-nation council with the draft resolution that would significantly tighten restrictions after North Korea's nuclear test and Feb. 7 rocket launch, and create what it described as the toughest U.N. sanctions regime in two decades.
Originally Washington had wanted the council to adopt the resolution last weekend but Russia had demanded more time to study it.
The draft seen by Reuters would require U.N. member states to conduct mandatory inspections of all cargo passing through their territory to or from North Korea to look for illicit goods. Previously states only had to do this if they had reasonable grounds to believe there was illicit cargo.
The list of explicitly banned luxury goods will be expanded to include luxury watches, aquatic recreational vehicles, snowmobiles worth more than $2,000, lead crystal items and recreational sports equipment.
Pyongyang denied the Feb. 7 launch involved banned ballistic missile technology, saying it was a peaceful satellite launch.
The official North Korean news agency KCNA said in a commentary on Monday its "position as a satellite manufacturer and launcher will never change (and) ... space development is not something to be given up because of someone's 'sanctions'."
It called the proposed sanctions "a wanton infringement on (North Korea's) sovereignty and grave challenge to it."
The proposal would also close a gap in the U.N. arms embargo on Pyongyang by banning all weapons imports and exports.
There would also be an unprecedented ban on the transfer to North Korea of any item that could directly contribute to the operational capabilities of its armed forces, such as trucks that could be modified for military purposes.
Other proposed measures include a ban on all supplies of aviation and rocket fuel to North Korea, a requirement for states to expel North Korean diplomats engaging in illicit activities, and blacklisting 16 North Korean individuals and 12 entities, including the National Aerospace Development Agency, or NADA, the body responsible for February's rocket launch.
U.N. delays vote on tough new North Korea sanctions at Russia's request| Reuters
