The Trump administration says it has momentum to exert more international pressure on North Korea, following a unanimous U.N. Security Council vote that increases sanctions on Pyongyang over its recent ballistic missile tests.
Mr. Trump said the new sanctions, which seek to ban exports worth about one-third of North Korea’s income from trade, will have “a very big financial impact!” He called it the largest single economic sanctions package ever on North Korea.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Mr. Trump “appreciates China’s and Russia’s cooperation in securing passage of this resolution.”
“He will continue working with allies and partners to increase diplomatic and economic pressure on North Korea to end its threatening and destabilizing behavior,” Mrs. Sanders said late Saturday in a statement.
A White House official said that South Korean President Moon Jae-in asked to speak with Mr. Trump by phone Sunday night. The White House said it would provide details of their conversation later.
Mr. Tillerson also met with his South Korean counterpart Sunday and A White House official said South Korean President Moon Jae-in had asked to speak with Mr. Trump by phone Sunday night. The White House said it would provide details of their conversation later.
The U.S. Security Council voted 15-0 in favor of sanctions that ban exports worth over $1 billion. The resolution adopted Saturday afternoon also would ban countries from giving any additional permits to North Korean workers, another source of money for Kim Jong-un’s regime.
The U.S.-drafted measure, negotiated with North Korea’s neighbor and ally China, is aimed at increasing economic pressure on Pyongyang to return to negotiations on its nuclear and missile programs. It follows North Korea’s first successful tests of intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching the U.S. last month.
The resolution bans North Korea from exporting coal, iron, lead and seafood products. This represents one-third of its total exports last year, estimated at $3 billion.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley praised the council’s unanimous vote on the resolution, which had been negotiated with China for more than a month.
“This resolution is the single largest economic sanctions package ever leveled against the North Korean regime,” said Ms. Haley, adding the council had put the country and its leadership “on notice” and “what happens next is up to North Korea.”
Even prominent critics of Mr. Trump said the vote was an important step. Former U.S. ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul called the vote “a genuine foreign policy achievement.”
⦁ This article is based in part on wire service reports.
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