A proposed package of new U.N. sanctions would require mandatory inspection of all cargo going in and out of North Korea and ban its exports of mineral resources, a key source of hard currency for Pyongyang, a U.S. envoy said Thursday.| Now that's an interesting move. Certainly didn't expect that from the Obama administration at this date... |
"The United States tabled a draft U.N. Security Council resolution that, if adopted, would break new ground and represent the strongest set of sanctions imposed by the Security Council in more than two decades," Power told reporters.
"For the first time in history, all cargo going in and out of the DPRK would be subjected to mandatory inspection. For the first time, all small arms and other conventional weapons would be prohibited from being sold to the DPRK," she said.
| Definitely twitches the surprise-meter. Inspecting ships and aircraft? If we have the manpower and the will to do it it'll force the Norks to respond: either with war or by coming (spluttering) to the negotiations table. |
| That's more of the usual. Those sanctions are leaky -- worth doing but we shouldn't expect much. |
"These sanctions, if adopted, would send an unambiguous and unyielding message to the DPRK's regime the world will not accept your proliferation. There will be consequences for your actions and we will work relentlessly and collectively to stop your nuclear program," Power told reporters.
"If adopted and implemented fully, these sanctions would constitute a major increase in pressure compared to the council's previous actions on the DPRK. They have a broader scope and target more of the DPRK's pressure points," she said.
According to media reports, the draft resolution also calls for blacklisting 17 North Korean individuals and 12 entities, requiring states to expel North Korean diplomats involved in illicit activities and ban the North's imports of luxury items.
| All of that won't accomplish much... |
Power said that the new sanctions would make it much harder for the North to raise the funds, import the technology, and acquire the know-how to advance its illicit nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
"The DPRK has taken progressive steps toward its declared goal of developing nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles," she said. "The international community cannot allow the DPRK regime to achieve that goal. The United States will not allow this to happen."
She also made it clear, however, that the sanctions are not aimed at the North Korean people.
"The North Korean people have suffered so much already under one of the most brutal regimes the world has ever known. Rather, the resolution focuses on a ruling elite that have inflicted so much of that suffering, always privileging the nuclear and ballistic missile programs over the welfare of the North Korean people," she said.
Power also said the U.S. and its partners will continue to pursue "rigorous and unyielding sanctions" as long as the North pursues nuclear weapons.
"We have seen how robust sanctions can alter a government's dangerous nuclear ambitions," she said. "The time to use this tool with the DPRK is now and we look forward to working with the council to put in place comprehensive, robust and unprecedented sanctions against the DPRK regime."