The UN Security Council voted unanimously Wednesday to tighten sanctions against North Korea nearly three months after the secretive nation carried out its fifth nuclear test.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the move, saying the Security Council had “taken strong action on one of the most enduring and pressing peace and security challenges of our time.”
Negotiations on the draft UN resolution began shortly after North Korea carried out what it said was a successful test of a nuclear warhead on September 9.
State media said the warhead could be mounted on ballistic rockets and would enable North Korea to produce “a variety of smaller, lighter and diversified nuclear warheads of higher strike power.”
The resolution toughens sanctions on exports used by North Korea to raise hard currency to fund its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, particularly coal. The country is also now banned from exporting statues and metals, including copper, nickel, silver and zinc.
Other measures target North Korean officials, diplomats and companies accused of involvement in nuclear proliferation activities, smuggling and the illegal sale of arms to raise money for the regime of leader Kim Jong Un.
Ban: ‘Unequivocal message’
The Security Council has held nine emergency meetings this year in response to nuclear tests and ballistic missile activities by North Korea, Ban said in a statement Wednesday, an unprecedentedly high number.
“Today’s resolution includes the toughest and most comprehensive sanctions regime ever imposed by the Security Council,” he said.
“It sends an unequivocal message that (North Korea) must cease further provocative actions and comply fully with its international obligations.”
He called on all UN member states to ensure the sanctions are fully implemented.
China, historically a key ally of neighboring North Korea, or the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, had said Tuesday it would support the resolution in Wednesday’s vote.
“We think this reaction should have a clear target, which mainly aims at nuclear activities in the DPRK,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said. “The reaction should not affect the livelihoods, humanitarian needs, and development of the DPRK citizens.”
‘Dangerous choices’
Samantha Power, the US ambassador to the United Nations, said the Security Council had met in response to the “dangerous choices” made by North Korea.
She hailed the unanimous adoption of new sanctions and praised China, Japan and South Korea for their work on the resolution.
“Lately, this council has been divided on many issues. But the unanimous adoption of new sanctions shows that as long as the DPRK pursues this dangerous and destabilizing path, this council will impose ever harsher consequences on those responsible,” she said.
She said the tougher restrictions on North Korea’s coal exports and the new ban on exporting copper, nickel, silver and zinc would cut its hard currency for prohibited weapons programs by at least $800 million a year, or a quarter of the country’s entire export revenues.
In addition, the resolution imposes new measures to restrict the flow of banned materials into North Korea by road, rail, sea or air, Power said.
South Korean monitors estimated the September 9 blast to have had the explosive power of 10 kilotons, almost twice as large as the most recent test before that in January.
World leaders immediately condemned the test, saying it was a clear violation of existing Security Council resolutions.
It came just days after North Korea test-fired three ballistic missiles, which landed in Japan’s Air Defense Identification Zone, about 155 miles (250 kilometers) from a Japanese island.