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China to Sanction Norks Over Nuclear Tests
July 14 (Bloomberg) -- China agreed for the first time to punish senior North Korean government officials for defying United Nations resolutions barring nuclear and missile tests, Chinas deputy ambassador said. Ambassador Liu Zhenmin said his government would support imposing a travel ban and asset freeze on a large percentage of 15 North Korean officials proposed by the U.S. and other Western nations as targets for UN sanctions.
Chinas acceptance of sanctions against North Korean officials and companies, as well as material that might contribute to the development of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, clears the way for Security Council action this week. Russia acquiesced last week, leaving the panel to await Chinas decision. No government officials have been subject to the sanctions the Security Council adopted after North Koreas nuclear test in 2006. North Koreas nuclear test and missile launches may have irked the Chinese government, said Yang Moo Jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul. Still, we cannot expect China to completely abandon North Korea, they are and always will be staunch allies to one another. Ambassador Fazli Corman of Turkey, which chairs the Security Council committee charged with implementing the sanctions, said formal agreement by its 15 member governments would come within days. Kim Yong Nam, North Korean leader Kim Jong Ils most senior aide and president of the Supreme Peoples Assembly, arrived in Egypt yesterday to attend the 15th summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, the communist nations official Korea Central News Agency said today. He is not among the list of North Korean officials that may be targeted for sanctions. The Security Council in April agreed to freeze the foreign assets of two North Korean companies and a bank and also said the government in Pyongyang was barred from acquiring items designated by the Missile Technology Control Regime, a coalition of 34 nations to curb proliferation of missile technology. It was the first time the 2006 sanctions had been enforced. The Security Council last month adopted a resolution to punish North Korea for its May 25 nuclear bomb test and missile launches. The measure seeks to curb loans and money transfers to the communist nation and step up inspection of cargoes suspected of containing material that might contribute to the development of nuclear weapons or ballistic missiles. Posted by: Steve White 2009-07-15 |
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