The Wall Street Journal:
SEOUL—New draft United Nations sanctions on North Korea target a much wider range of Pyongyang’s sources of revenue and weapons technology than previous U.N. penalties against the country. They also seek to tackle a critical flaw in past sanctions packages: failure by U.N. member states to police the directives.
A panel of U.N. experts that monitors previously imposed sanctions on North Korea says in a new report that was leaked to news agencies that Pyongyang has been able to work around existing sanctions due to limited international implementation. Low prioritization of sanctions on North Korea by U.N. member countries “raise important questions about the overall efficacy of the sanctions regime,” the Associated Press cited the annual report as saying.
The new sanctions draft, circulated at the U.N. Security Council on Thursday, seeks to address the problem by requiring states to inspect all cargo going to or coming from North Korea by land, sea or air. Previously, countries only had to inspect cargo if they suspected it contained banned goods.
As North Korea’s dominant trade partner, China will have a major role in an increased inspections regime. The draft sanctions resolution was agreed by Beijing and Washington, although Western diplomats have expressed concerns about China’s sustained commitment to sanctions against Pyongyang in the past.
Sanctions that target North Korea’s sources of funds for its weapons program mark some of the biggest shifts from previous resolutions.
For the first time, the proposed sanctions target North Korea’s most important trade item: minerals. Coal and iron ore account for around half of North Korea’s export revenue, with almost all of it shipped to China. The new draft sanctions package bans export of coal, iron and iron ore unless such transactions are for “livelihood purposes.”
That clause may limit the impact on North Korea, but a spokesman for South Korea’s unification ministry said on Friday the move would “cause considerable disturbance to [North Korea’s] foreign currency earnings.”
A proposed ban on aviation fuel imports in the new resolution would, if enforced, hurt the nation’s single commercial airline and growing income from foreign tourists visiting the country. North Korea’s missile program is a more direct target in a ban on rocket fuel in the draft resolution.
The sanctions also seek to close loopholes in North Korea’s weapons trade. One clause bans items such as commercial vehicles that could be modified for military use. In 2012, North Korea displayed new ballistic missiles on transporters that had been imported from China and identified by customs officials as trucks used for logging and construction.
