U.S. to Impose New Sanctions on Chinese Banks Over North Korea Ties

The diplomat noted that “the United States tries to impose on the UN Security Council an unprecedentedly harsh resolution on sanctions fabricated by Washington in response to the DPRK’s July 4 test of the Hwasong-14 intercontinental ballistic missile”.

But Kim’s mouthpiece, the Korean Central News Agency, quoted North Korea’s foreign minister as saying his nation would respond to any new UN sanction “resolution” with its “act of justice”.

The analysis will raise fears that Kim intends to manufacture more nuclear weapons, days after North Korean officials described a United States training exercise near their border as a “dangerous military gambit of warmongers who are trying to ignite the fuse of a nuclear war on the peninsula”.

The five countries should discuss what incentives they can offer to North Korea in case Pyongyang freezes its nuclear facilities and dismantles them in a verifiable manner, he said. Half or more in each country say they are somewhat or very concerned about the nuclear program.

Pyongyang claimed the July 4 launch was particularly significant because it represented the first launch of a North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). For instance, in 2016 after September 9 nuclear test by the North Koreans, he tweeted: “Russia has more war heads than ever, N. Korea is testing nukes, and Iran got a sweetheart deal to keep theirs”.

The chief targets are Beijing and Moscow, which have already indicated they do not favour crippling sanctions on North Korea and could veto the USA resolution. Not likely as that might mean a unified Korea under the heavy influence of the U.S. We would not accept a comparable situation on our border so why would we ever expect China to accept this?

The gap in opinion between the major powers concerning North Korea’s launch was also prominent during the G20 summit.

Gambling that China will cooperate hand-in-glove with the United States on the North Korea file was always going to be a hard and unlikely undertaking. It’s also critical that the USA coordinates a team effort with China, Japan, and South Korea to keep the North Korean threat contained. Does a nuclear North Korea pose a real threat to the US?

The launch, which was widely condemned around the world, has meanwhile had a negative impact on North Korean traders working in China, who had hoped for better business opportunities owing to recent changes in the government of rival South Korea.

South Korean officials also confirmed in May that the North’s missile defense program was developing “faster than expected”. “The Chinese side will continue to comprehensively, accurately, earnestly and strictly comply with UNSC resolutions”, ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said in a briefing in Beijing, referring to North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. “China, over many years, has been at war with Korea”, he said.

“Make no mistake, the Security Council’s sanctions on [North Korea] can not be equated with all-encompassing economic sanctions”. If North Korea is closed to vital trade, it would be pressured to make amends and stop seeking destructive missiles. An online article in the official People’s Daily this week accused the USA and Japan of using the “China responsibility theory” to hide their own failure on the Korean Peninsula. All told, over 1.2 million people are estimated to have been killed in the conflict – Americans, Chinese, North and South Koreans and others from United Nations countries.