China and Russia vetoed their UN Security Council veto on Thursday in a vote on a draft resolution by the United States calling for new sanctions to be imposed on North Korea. intercontinental ballistic missiles.
The remaining 13 members of the Security Council voted in favor of the text, which would impose a reduction in legal oil imports – crude and refined – from Pyongyang. In the corridors, several Washington allies expressed concern over her insistence on holding the vote knowing that Beijing and Moscow would veto it.
But for the Americans, it would be “worse to do nothing” and “let Pyongyang missile tests” continue “without reaction”, it would be “worse than the scenario of two countries blocking the decision,” he explained. provided he is not named.
Ballistic missiles, including intercontinental ballistic missiles, pose a “threat to the peace and security of the entire international community,” said US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield before the vote.
China’s ambassador to the UN, Zhang Jun, said after the vote that the US initiative “removes the SA from dialogue and compromise”, while, before the process, noted that Beijing “does not believe that new sanctions would help to address the current situation “.
The decision to impose new sanctions would only “make the situation worse,” he told reporters, expressing Beijing’s “absolute” opposition to any attempt to turn (…) Asia into a battlefield or to create conflicts or tensions “.
Zhang Joon called for “any provocative action to be avoided” and urged the United States to “resume dialogue with North Korea.”
The draft resolution also called for a ban on exports of fossil fuels and other items, such as watches, from North Korea and any sale of tobacco products to Pyongyang (where North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is said to be an avid smoker). It also called for an escalation of measures against North Korea’s digital activities.
Following the rejection of the draft decision and the clear reflection of the SA division over North Korea, the body’s ability to maintain pressure by applying the latest sanctions imposed in 2017 may be questioned, diplomats fear.
At the time, reacting to the tests of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, the SA had shown unity, imposing three sanctions on North Korea in the fields of oil, coal, iron, fisheries, and textiles.
This week, North Korea launched new missile tests, including possibly its largest intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), just hours after US President Joe Biden’s tour of Asia.
Washington and Seoul have been warning for several weeks that Pyongyang may soon proceed with the seventh nuclear test in its history, the first in five years.
In recent months, Pyongyang has stepped up its missile tests, accusing the United States of “hostile” behavior. In March, the first North Korean ICBM from 2017 was launched.
Negotiations to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula have been deadlocked since 2019, when Kim Jong Un’s summit with then-US President Donald Trump in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, failed. Washington has assured last year that it is open to dialogue with Pyongyang, but the latter rejects all offers to resume talks.
Follow Skai.gr on Google News
and be the first to know all the news
