China and Russia stop proposing sanctions against North Korea

The 13 remaining Security Council members voted in favor of the US-led proposal to halt exports of tobacco and oil to North Korea, whose leader Kim Jong Un is a popular smoker. According to Reuters, the punishment would also mean blacklisting the hacker group Lazarus, which the United States believes has links to North Korea.

The vote came a day after North Korea launched three missiles, including one considered the country’s largest ICBM, following US President Joe Biden’s visit to Asia. It is the latest in a series of ballistic missile launches from North Korea this year, which are banned by the Security Council.

different opinions

US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas Greenfield called the vote a “day of disappointment” for the council.

“The world faces a clear and present danger from North Korea,” she told the council.

Chinese Ambassador Zhang Jun said further sanctions against North Korea would not help but would lead to more “negative effects and an escalation of confrontation.” Russia’s ambassador, Vasily Nebenzia, was in the same vein when he expressed that the new sanctions would only lead to a “dead end”.

The general assembly is held

The United Nations General Assembly will now debate the situation on North Korea over the next two weeks under a new rule that requires the body’s 193 members to meet after each Security Council veto.