The UN Security Council passed a new round of sanctions against North Korea in an unanimous vote today. The vote stopped short of the initial proposal, which included an outright ban on oil. Instead, the resolution includes a cap on how much oil North Korea can import annually, watered down to get China’s support.
The resolution also bans North Korea from exporting all textiles anywhere in the world, as second largest export commodity. Officials are openly talking about this being used to “starve” North Korea.
The limits on oil could indeed have some impact on the nation, as the 2 million barrel annual cap is less than half what North Korea imported last year. Though presented as a military effort, stopping them fueling vehicles, his in practice will likely mean less fuel available for agriculture and other non-military uses.
North Korea criticized the efforts as “unlawful,” and warned that they intend to make the US pay for spearheading the effort.
Chinese officials said this vote was something North Korea needed to view with seriousness, and that all sides need to see negotiations resumed sooner rather than later. So far, there is no indication that the US is interested in such talks.
What if Russia and China would start treating us like we treat them . They would veto sanctions against North Korea in the security council . They would offer Kim some better weapon like we are offering Ukraine . They would assist the Taliban in Afghanistan like we did to drive the Soviet Union out of Afghanistan .
Madness is spreading throughout the UNSC. When will sanctions on the most unruly member, the USA, have to be vetoed by the USA because all the rest have enough sense and courage to stop pandering to the indispensable nation?