United Nations bans key North Korea exports over missile tests

[rooster59]

United Nations bans key North Korea exports over missile tests

By Michelle Nichols

 

Intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) Hwasong-14 is pictured during its second test-fire in this undated picture provided by KCNA in Pyongyang on July 29, 2017. KCNA via Reuters

 

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations Security Council unanimously imposed new sanctions on North Korea on Saturday that could slash by a third the Asian state's $3 billion annual export revenue over Pyongyang's two July intercontinental ballistic missile tests.

 

The U.S.-drafted resolution bans North Korean exports of coal, iron, iron ore, lead, lead ore and seafood. It also prohibits countries from increasing the current numbers of North Korean labourers working abroad, bans new joint ventures with North Korea and any new investment in current joint ventures.

 

"We should not fool ourselves into thinking we have solved the problem. Not even close. The North Korean threat has not left us, it is rapidly growing more dangerous," U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley told the council.

 

"Further action is required. The United States is taking and will continue to take prudent defensive measures to protect ourselves and our allies," she said, adding that Washington would continue annual joint military exercises with South Korea.

 

North Korea has accused the United States and South Korea of escalating tensions by conducting military drills.

 

North Korean ally China and Russia both slammed the U.S. deployment of the THAAD anti-missile defence system in South Korea. China's U.N. Ambassador Liu Jieyi called for a halt to the deployment and for any equipment in place to be dismantled.

 

Liu also urged North Korea to "cease taking actions that might further escalate tensions."

 

U.S. PRESSURE ON CHINA

 

Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said he hoped recent remarks by U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson "were sincere - that the U.S. is not seeking to dismantle the existing (North Korea) situation or to forcibly unite the peninsula or to militarily intervene in the country."

 

While the Security Council has been divided on how to deal with other international crises like Syria, the 15-member body has remained relatively united on North Korea. Still, negotiating new measures typically takes months, not weeks.

 

North Korea has been under U.N. sanctions since 2006 over its ballistic missile and nuclear programs and the Security Council has now ratcheted up the measures in response to five nuclear weapons tests and four long-range missile launches.

 

The United States negotiated with China for a month on the latest resolution, before expanding negotiations to the full 15-member council on Friday.

 

U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has been frustrated that China has not done more to rein in North Korea. Washington has threatened to exert trade pressure on Beijing and impose sanctions on Chinese firms doing business with Pyongyang.

 

"We had tough negotiations this week," Haley told reporters. "I think that the Chinese realized that the United States was going to push, but they responded and we appreciate how they cooperated with us during these negotiations."

 

Liu, asked about the role of U.S. pressure in negotiations, said China has been consistent on its aim of achieving denuclearisation, peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and trying "to re-launch negotiations to achieve this end."

 

"We are opposed to any unilateral sanctions outside the agreed framework set by the U.N. Security Council resolutions," he told reporters.

 

RUSSIA/U.S. COOPERATION

 

It had also been unclear whether poor relations between Russia and the United States would hamper negotiations on new North Korean sanctions. Washington imposed new unilateral sanctions on Moscow on Wednesday to punish Russia over accusations of interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and the annexation of Ukraine's Crimea.

 

"We are not hostages to our relations when we have to work together on issues which are far more important than our bilateral relations low," Nebenzia told Reuters.

 

The new U.N. resolution also adds nine individuals and four entities to the U.N. blacklist, including North Korea's primary foreign exchange bank, subjecting them to a global asset freeze and travel ban.

 

In November the Security Council capped North Korean coal exports at $400 million annually, though China - its largest buyer - halted imports in February. The resolution adopted on Saturday completely bans North Korean exports of coal.

 

A U.N. diplomat said North Korea had been expected to earn an estimated $251 million from iron and iron ore in 2017, $113 million from lead and lead ore and $295 million from seafood. The diplomat said it was difficult to estimate how much North Korea was earning from sending workers abroad.

 

A United Nations human rights investigator said in 2015 that North Korea has forced more than 50,000 people to work abroad, mainly in Russia and China, earning between $1.2 billion and $2.3 billion a year for the country's government.

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-08-06

[darksidedog]

This will hurt North Korea for sure, but somehow I don't see Kim rushing to the negotiating table. He's far too mentally unstable to make sensible decisions.

[maewang99]

24 minutes ago, darksidedog said:

This will hurt North Korea for sure, but somehow I don't see Kim rushing to the negotiating table. He's far too mentally unstable to make sensible decisions.

this only works out good if he is rational. so apparently the Russians and Chinese think the opposite.
 

his regime is unstable... not him.... 

besides.... did Donald Trump or Antonio Guterres decide what you ate for breakfast?

it's a regime. it's not one little fat guy running around no matter what they show on TV.
 

even with nukes.
 

this UN thing is impressive. no veto from Russia or China.  

if this works it's a big win for Trump. it's not what we ate for breakfast... but I'll admit it is pretty damn close. as close as it ever gets except for one other issue. 




 




 

Edited August 6, 2017 by maewang99

[Dave67]

I think Russia and China are aware of Trumps capability of starting a War with NK

[baboon]

I don't see the point. The leadership won't suffer and will continue with their armaments programs. If a few hundred / thousand starve then so be it. The remainder will be conditioned to hate the outside even more.

This is a country well used to isolation, hunger and poverty.

[craigt3365]

29 minutes ago, maewang99 said:

this only works out good if he is rational. so apparently the Russians and Chinese think the opposite.
 

his regime is unstable... not him.... 

besides.... did Donald Trump or Antonio Guterres decide what you ate for breakfast?

it's a regime. it's not one little fat guy running around no matter what they show on TV.
 

even with nukes.
 

this UN thing is impressive. no veto from Russia or China.  

if this works it's a big win for Trump. it's not what we ate for breakfast... but I'll admit it is pretty damn close. as close as it ever gets except for one other issue.

 

Russia and China think the opposite?  They signed the sanctions.  With this statement:

Quote

"We are not hostages to our relations when we have to work together on issues which are far more important than our bilateral relations low," Nebenzia told Reuters.

Seems Russia and China agree with the US and the rest of the world.  Political issues aside.

 

Kim is the regime.  He controls it.  So if it's unstable, it's because of him.  So yes, it's one little fat guy running around.

 

What's breakfast got to do with this? LOL

[YetAnother]

2 hours ago, Dave67 said:

I think Russia and China are aware of Trumps capability of starting a War with NK

not sure it would be much of a war if the usa ever got serious

[ilostmypassword]

34 minutes ago, YetAnother said:

not sure it would be much of a war if the usa ever got serious

Tell that to the Chinese and South Koreans.

[ilostmypassword]

3 hours ago, darksidedog said:

This will hurt North Korea for sure, but somehow I don't see Kim rushing to the negotiating table. He's far too mentally unstable to make sensible decisions.

His father and his grandfather before him acted in the same way. And yet the dynasty has survived. Maybe sounding crazy and making threats is actually a very rational way to hold on to power.

http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/04/26/kim-jong-un-is-a-survivor-not-a-madman/

 

[craigt3365]

Just now, ilostmypassword said:

His father and his grandfather before him acted in the same way. And yet the dynasty has survived. Maybe sounding crazy and making threats is actually a very rational way to hold on to power.

http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/04/26/kim-jong-un-is-a-survivor-not-a-madman/

 

Shooting a high ranking government official with an anti-aircraft gun just for sleeping in a meeting is definitely a threat...and the sign of a madman.  As is poisoning his half brother.  A survivor?  Sure.  So was Hitler, Stalin and Mao.  None were rational.  All mass murders.  Just like Kim.

 

If Kim was rational, his country would be much better off.  He's the president, it's all in his power.

 

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/04/24/opinions/north-korea-threat-opinion-kirby/index.html

Quote

You can't out-crazy Kim Jong Un

 

[ilostmypassword]

2 minutes ago, craigt3365 said:

Shooting a high ranking government official with an anti-aircraft gun just for sleeping in a meeting is definitely a threat...and the sign of a madman.  As is poisoning his half brother.  A survivor?  Sure.  So was Hitler, Stalin and Mao.  None were rational.  All mass murders.  Just like Kim.

 

If Kim was rational, his country would be much better off.  He's the president, it's all in his power.

 

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/04/24/opinions/north-korea-threat-opinion-kirby/index.html

 

He is rational enough to adopt tactics that keep him in power: the same tactics that his father and grandfather used. So his actions clearly have a consistent, and for him, fruitful relation to reality. You consistently confuse sociopathy with irrationality.  If Kim was a halfway decent human being his country might be better off. Or maybe a lack of utter ruthlessness would get him liquidated and another sociopath would just take his place. You don't seem to have a grasp of the poisonous milieu in which he operates. Ruthless and murderous, yes. Suicidal, no.

And who says those 3 dictators you cited were irrational? , . Monstrous egomaniacs, yes. But irrational in the techniques needed to hold on to power? 2 of them died old.  Only in Hitler did a sense of grandiosity overcame the rationality needed to maintain a hold on power. Only Hitler committed suicide.

[craigt3365]

5 minutes ago, ilostmypassword said:

He is rational enough to adopt tactics that keep him in power: the same tactics that his father and grandfather used. So his actions clearly have a consistent, and for him, fruitful relation to reality. You consistently confuse sociopathy with irrationality.  If Kim was a halfway decent human being his country might be better off. Or maybe a lack of utter ruthlessness would get him liquidated and another sociopath would just take his place. You don't seem to have a grasp of the poisonous milieu in which he operates. Ruthless and murderous, yes. Suicidal, no.

And who says those 3 dictators you cited were irrational? , . Monstrous egomaniacs, yes. But irrational in the techniques needed to hold on to power? 2 of them died old.  Only in Hitler did a sense of grandiosity overcame the rationality needed to maintain a hold on power. Only Hitler committed suicide.

Your continued support for this nut amazes me.  Yes, I get it.  You've posted this many times.  Still....amazes me.

[vandv]

2 hours ago, craigt3365 said:

 

Russia and China think the opposite?  They signed the sanctions.  With this statement:

Seems Russia and China agree with the US and the rest of the world.  Political issues aside.

 

Kim is the regime.  He controls it.  So if it's unstable, it's because of him.  So yes, it's one little fat guy running around.

 

What's breakfast got to do with this? LOL

 

so now you are an expert on the inner workings of the NK gov......where did you gain this knowledge from watching Team America?

[ilostmypassword]

30 minutes ago, craigt3365 said:

Your continued support for this nut amazes me.  Yes, I get it.  You've posted this many times.  Still....amazes me.

He is a murdeous, ruthless sociopath. I've never denied that. How is that supporting him?  Because I assert that there is a method in his apparent madness?  I aim to understand him. You just want to indiscriminately villify him. 

[NoBrainer]

3 hours ago, baboon said:

I don't see the point. The leadership won't suffer and will continue with their armaments programs. If a few hundred / thousand starve then so be it. The remainder will be conditioned to hate the outside even more.

This is a country well used to isolation, hunger and poverty.

Well at least they should have lots of Seafood on the menu.

[craigt3365]

47 minutes ago, vandv said:

 

so now you are an expert on the inner workings of the NK gov......where did you gain this knowledge from watching Team America?

Absolutely an expert.  Team America knows NK quite well.  Better than most countries.

[craigt3365]

17 minutes ago, ilostmypassword said:

He is a murdeous, ruthless sociopath. I've never denied that. How is that supporting him?  Because I assert that there is a method in his apparent madness?  I aim to understand him. You just want to indiscriminately villify him. 

Cool.  There is a method to his madness.  I don't need to vilify him.  He's done a stellar job of that all by himself!  Definitely no Nobel Peace prizes in his future.

 

[craigt3365]

3 hours ago, baboon said:

I don't see the point. The leadership won't suffer and will continue with their armaments programs. If a few hundred / thousand starve then so be it. The remainder will be conditioned to hate the outside even more.

This is a country well used to isolation, hunger and poverty.

I'll try to find it, but there was an interesting article about sanctions.  Saying just what you said.  I guess a lot of trade with China goes on under the radar, via fishing boats.  And a lot of money is made from overseas diplomats via their illegal activities.  Hard to stop those as they've got diplomatic protection.  Sadly.

 

They are definitely used to isolation, hunger and poverty.  All due to their leadership.  The Kim family.

[jayguzz]

That guy has no butt hole


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[craigt3365]

What is up with these guys?  The threats continue.

 

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-40838582

Quote

 

Meanwhile, North Korea's ruling-party newspaper Rodong Sinmun said nuclear action or sanctions taken by Washington would lead to an "unimaginable sea of fire" engulfing the US.

 

The article, printed before the new UN sanctions were approved, added that if the US did not move away from its "hostile policy towards Pyongyang, the only choice for the US is self-destruction".

 

Insane leader.

[craigt3365]

1 minute ago, craigt3365 said:

What is up with these guys?  The threats continue.

 

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-40838582

Insane leader.

From that same article:

Quote

Asean's 10 member-states issued a joint statement saying they had "grave concerns" over North Korea's actions, which "seriously threaten peace".

 

[vandv]

20 minutes ago, jayguzz said:

That guy has no butt hole


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

Thank you for your insightful post.

 

If that truly is the case may I suggest you look elsewhere for your pleasure.

[Dave67]

2 hours ago, YetAnother said:

not sure it would be much of a war if the usa ever got serious

I'm sure Russia and China are aware of that. China especially wouldn't want a War on their doorstep. May find themselves having to intervene as they did before despite the strength of the UN forces

[Morch]

2 hours ago, ilostmypassword said:

His father and his grandfather before him acted in the same way. And yet the dynasty has survived. Maybe sounding crazy and making threats is actually a very rational way to hold on to power.

http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/04/26/kim-jong-un-is-a-survivor-not-a-madman/

 

 

And once more, this very same obsession with survival makes him dangerous. No telling how's he'll react to a situation perceived as a grave threat to his regime. Not clear how much he's willing to compromise.

 

Relying on how things were in the past ignores that the equation did not remain the same. Not with nuclear weapons on both sides and not with the current US administration. Assuming that Kim is the exact clone of his elders is not necessarily correct.

[ilostmypassword]

1 minute ago, Morch said:

 

And once more, this very same obsession with survival makes him dangerous. No telling how's he'll react to a situation perceived as a grave threat to his regime. Not clear how much he's willing to compromise.

 

Relying on how things were in the past ignores that the equation did not remain the same. Not with nuclear weapons on both sides and not with the current US administration. Assuming that Kim is the exact clone of his elders is not necessarily correct.

My general assumption about people - and I believe in this I'm backed by science - is that apart from a few species like maybe guppies(?) - is that they are not exact clones of their elders even when their elders are also their ancestors.

[Morch]

2 minutes ago, ilostmypassword said:

My general assumption about people - and I believe in this I'm backed by science - is that apart from a few species like maybe guppies(?) - is that they are not exact clones of their elders even when their elders are also their ancestors.

 

Great. So you may also accept the proposition that relying on the two previous NK rulers' actions in predicting those of the current one got its limits.

 

[ilostmypassword]

1 minute ago, Morch said:

 

Great. So you may also accept the proposition that relying on the two previous NK rulers' actions in predicting those of the current one got its limits.

 

Yes. And what assumptions in affairs both domestic and international don't have their limits? That said, I don't see any significant difference in how this Kim is behaving or misbehaving from the way his antecedent non-guppies did. And I haven't seen anyone offer a violent solution to his removal (and the wholesale change in the North Korean system of governance that would also be necessary) that doesn't entail greater risks than enduring the status quo.

[Morch]

22 minutes ago, ilostmypassword said:

Yes. And what assumptions in affairs both domestic and international don't have their limits? That said, I don't see any significant difference in how this Kim is behaving or misbehaving from the way his antecedent non-guppies did. And I haven't seen anyone offer a violent solution to his removal (and the wholesale change in the North Korean system of governance that would also be necessary) that doesn't entail greater risks than enduring the status quo.

 

His predecessors did not possess credible nuclear military capability. It's a game changer in more than one way. It also changes the way things are perceived from Kim's end. Also, his predecessors created and perfected the system and world into which his was born. Some years back, there was a high level convention and workshop addressing regional third and fourth generation leadership issues in business and politics. I don't think Kim attended, and I doubt he could repeat his predecessors' "achievements" on his own. Same might apply for making the right decisions.

 

Harping on no-good-solutions-suggested is fine. I rather think that the point made is that there are none. Aggression is problematic, regime change uncertain and time-consuming, pressuring the PRC to deal with it is dubious- and the same goes for negotiating based on Kim's terms.

 

I'm not advocating anything rash, and I do not pretend to have a magic solution how to address the situation. IMO, most of the options discussed were, perhaps, relevant in the past, to one degree or another. Going nuclear changed a lot of that. And while some celebrate the supposed frustration of US policy - it seems this is painting all sides into corners. Maybe not such a great improvement for all involved.

[craigt3365]

Perhaps regime should have been pursued back in 1993 when NK announced they were backing out of the NPT?  We wouldn't be where we are now....probably. LOL

 

Too bad people have suffer under a brutal dictator like Kim.  But as you say, no easy answers.

 

https://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/dprkchron

Quote

 

In 1994, faced with North Korea’s announced intent to withdraw from the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), which requires non-nuclear weapon states to forswear the development and acquisition of nuclear weapons, the United States and North Korea signed the Agreed Framework. Under this agreement, Pyongyang committed to freezing its illicit plutonium weapons program in exchange for aid.

 

Following the collapse of this agreement in 2002, North Korea claimed that it had withdrawn from the NPT in January 2003 and once again began operating its nuclear facilities.

 

 

[ilostmypassword]

Just now, craigt3365 said:

Perhaps regime should have been pursued back in 1993 when NK announced they were backing out of the NPT?  We wouldn't be where we are now....probably. LOL

 

Too bad people have suffer under a brutal dictator like Kim.  But as you say, no easy answers.

 

https://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/dprkchron

 

Or perhaps George Bush and Dick Cheney shouldn't have walked away from the agreement formulated by Bill Clinton et alii?