US, China agree on draft North Korea sanctions resolution at UN

THE US and China have agreed to impose tougher UN sanctions on North Korea as punishment for its latest nuclear test and rocket launch.

This undated photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on February 21, 2016 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un inspecting maneuvers for attack and defence between large combined units of the Korean People's Army (KPA) staged in three directions at the same time at an undisclosed location. REPUBLIC OF KOREA OUT AFP PHOTO / KCNA via KNS THIS PICTURE WAS MADE AVAILABLE BY A THIRD PARTY. AFP CAN NOT INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, LOCATION, DATE AND CONTENT OF THIS IMAGE. THIS PHOTO IS DISTRIBUTED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY AFP. ---EDITORS NOTE--- RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO/KCNA VIA KNS" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

THE US is submitting a draft UN resolution that calls for “tougher, more comprehensive” sanctions on North Korea for its nuclear and ballistic tests, the US ambassador said.

“It is a major upgrade” from past sanctions resolutions, Samantha Power told reporters ahead of a Security Council meeting to discuss the new package of measures.

Her comments come after UN diplomats revealed on Thursday that the US and China reached agreement on a UN resolution that would impose tougher sanctions as punishment for North Korea’s latest nuclear test and rocket launch.

One Security Council diplomat called the draft resolution “significantly substantive” and expressed hope that it will be adopted in the coming days.

Another said the draft had been circulated on Wednesday to the three other permanent council members — Russia, Britain and France.

The council is scheduled to hold closed consultations on Thursday on compliance with the North Korean sanctions resolutions, and the US-China draft could be discussed then with the 10 non-permanent council members.

Missile program ... North Korean leader Kim Jong-un watches the rocket launch. Picture: AFP/North Korean TV via Yonhap

Their comments follow a flurry of activity in Washington, including meetings between China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi and US Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday, and with National Security Adviser Susan Rice on Wednesday afternoon.

National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said Rice and Wang agreed “on the importance of a strong and united international response to North Korea’s provocations, including through a UN Security Council resolution that goes beyond previous resolutions.”

“They agreed that they will not accept North Korea as a nuclear weapons state,” Price said.

Earlier on Wednesday, Kerry told a Congressional hearing: “We’re on the brink of achieving a strong United Nations Security Council resolution.”

North Korea started off the new year with what it claims was its first hydrogen bomb test on January 6 and followed that up with the launch of a satellite on a rocket on February 7 that was condemned by much of the world as a test of banned missile technology.

Over the past 10 years, North Korea has conducted four nuclear tests and launched six long-range missiles — all in violation of Security Council resolutions.

Global pariah ... North Korean leader Kim Jong-un guides Korean People’s Army military drills. Picture: AFP/KCNA via KNS

South Korea’s UN Ambassador Oh Joon has urged the Security Council to adopt “extraordinary” measures to make clear to the North “that it will no longer tolerate its nuclear weapons development.”

The US, its Western allies and Japan, also pressed for new sanctions that go beyond the North’s nuclear and missile programs.

But China, Pyongyang’s neighbour and supporter on the council, is reluctant to impose measures that could threaten the stability of North Korea and cause the country’s economy to collapse.

Wang said that a new UN resolution alone cannot resolve the North Korean nuclear issue and that dialogue was needed.

He said China was urging a “parallel track” in which there were both talks on denuclearisation — the top priority of the US — and replacing the armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War with a formal peace treaty, a key demand of Pyongyang.

While the US and China were discussing a new UN resolution, the US took tougher steps of its own against North Korea, tightening sanctions and announcing it will hold formal talks with South Korea on deploying a missile defence system that China fears could be used against it as well North Korea.

South Korea and Japan have also announced new measures against Pyongyang.