US pushes to 'update, strengthen' UN sanctions on North Korea; China, and Russia oppose

The United States has said it will push United Nations to “update, strengthen” sanctions on North Korea over "increasingly dangerous provocations,” but China and Russia have opposed such efforts.

China and Russia on Friday argued that instead of strengthening sanctions they should be eased to improve North Korea's humanitarian situation.

The UN Security Council has steadily stepped up sanctions over Ukraine since 2006 over the years in a bid to cut off funding for Pyongyang's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.

US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the 15-member council on Friday that she would propose a draft resolution "to update and strengthen the sanctions regime" on North Korea.

North Korea on Friday confirmed that it test-fired its biggest-yet intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on the orders of leader Kim Jong-un, marking an end to a self-imposed moratorium on such tests.

The leader of North Korea was present at Thursday’s launch of what is being described as a “new type” of ICBM – the Hwasong-17.

It was the nuclear-armed country’s first full ICBM test since 2017 and appeared to have traveled higher and further than any previous missiles tested by Pyongyang to boost its nuclear deterrent against the US.

According to North Korea’s state media, the missile was launched from Pyongyang International Airport, traveling up to a maximum altitude of 6,248 km and flying a distance of 1,090 km during a 67-minute flight, before falling into the Sea of Japan.

The Hwasong-17 is a giant ICBM, first unveiled in a military parade in October 2020, and dubbed a "monster missile" by military experts. It had never previously been successfully test-fired.

The UN Security Council met on Friday, at the request of the United States and five other members, to discuss the ICBM launch. The Security Council has banned nuclear tests and ballistic missile launches by North Korea.

China and Russia expressed their opposition to the US move on Friday. They have called for an easing of UN sanctions to improve North Korea's humanitarian situation.

"No party should take any action that would lead to greater tensions," China's UN Ambassador Zhang Jun told the council on Friday.

"The US must not continue to brush aside the DPRK's justified demands. It should offer an attractive proposal to pave the way for early resumed dialogue,” Zhang added, using the acronym for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

Meanwhile, Russia's Deputy UN Ambassador Anna Evstigneeva told the council that further strengthening of UN sanctions "would threaten North Korean citizens with unacceptable socioeconomic and humanitarian problems."

Thomas-Greenfield however rejected Russia's argument.

"Offering sanctions relief, without substantive diplomatic progress, would only funnel more revenue to the regime and accelerate the realization of its WMD (weapons of mass destruction) and ballistic weapons goals," Thomas-Greenfield said.

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