Beijing reluctantly agrees on sanction without any remarks

Beijing reluctantly agrees on sanction without any remarks. August. 07, 2017 07:18. by In-Chan Hwang, Jeong-Hun Park hic@donga.com,sunshade@donga.com.

Given the new Resolution 2371 adopted by the UN Security Council to sanction North Korea in just eight days after the second test launching of the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) "Hwasong-14" by North Korea, the newly adopted sanction comes as a stern warning from the international community against provocations made by Pyongyang.

In particular, the recent resolution is expected to be effective in crunching the "financial support" to Pyongyang, by prohibiting mineral exports (coal, iron, led) as foreign earnings and freeze any hiring of North Korean workers in foreign countries. Still, some say the recent adoption is not enough to drive direct changes, as Beijing once again vetoed on limiting supply of crude oil; the "lifeline" of North Korea and also the crucial means for the international community to stop the nuclear provocations.

The highlight of the recent resolution is indeed the total ban on North Korea's coal export. As their main export item, coal was mentioned on the ban list whenever Pyongyang continued its provocations. Nevertheless, the two previous UN Security Council resolutions adopted in last March and November were limited to "partial sanction," as exports for the livelihood of the people were permitted or annual exports were capped due to China, which argued the resolution shall not infringe the North Korean's right to live.

Once again, the latest resolution did not include restricting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un." Including Kim's name can be significant for the U.N for sanctioning Pyongyang, but it also means using that card too quickly when it can be saved to leverage the international community to encourage North Korea to come up to the table for talks," former South Korean Ambassador to Russia Eui Seong-rak said.