UNSC imposes tough sanctions on North Korea

TIL Desk/World/UN/ The United Nations Security Council has unanimously passed a United States-drafted resolution that imposes strongest sanctions ever on North Korea, with measures targeting its last remaining major exports and reducing about 30 percent of oil provided to it.

“Today, we are saying the world will never accept a nuclear-armed North Korea. And today, the Security Council is saying that if the North Korean regime does not halt its nuclear program, we will act to stop it ourselves,” the US Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, said as the 15-membered UN body passed the resolution 2375 on North Korea.

“We are done trying to prod the regime to do the right thing. We are now acting to stop it from having the ability to continue doing the wrong thing,” she said. Haley said the international community is doing that by hitting North Korea’s ability to fuel and fund its weapons program.

Noting that oil is the lifeblood of North Korea’s effort to build and deliver a nuclear weapon, Haley said the resolution reduces almost 30 per cent of oil provided to North Korea by cutting off over 55 per cent of its gas, diesel, and heavy fuel oil.

“Further, today’s resolution completely bans natural gas and other oil byproducts that could be used as substitutes for the reduced petroleum. This will cut deep,” she said.