UN Security Council unanimously votes to cut fuel supplies to North Korea amid rising nuclear threat
Vote comes just over a month after the Security Council approved sanctions that were considered the strongest yet against Pyongyang
The UN Security Council unanimously passed a new resolution aimed at halting North Korea’s ability to produce nuclear weapons, a move that sets limits on exports of crude oil and fuel products to the reclusive state.
Prompted by North Korea’s most recent nuclear detonation, the Security Council took up discussion of the proposed resolution put forward by the US a little more than a month after the unanimous passage of sanctions that were considered to be the strongest yet against Pyongyang.
The latest resolution aims to cap North Korea’s imports of gasoline, diesel, heavy fuel oil and other refined fuel products at two million barrels annually, which would cut the amount from about 8.5 million barrels now.
“Passage of this resolution is better than nothing, but it’s not going to impinge on [North Korea’s] weapons activity,” former US Ambassador to the UN Bill Richardson said in an interview with the South China Morning Post ahead of the vote.
“The North Koreans have shown to be very resilient in absorbing sanctions,” which won’t halt their weapons development unless the UN manages to completely cut off oil and fuel supply and freeze the government’s assets overseas, added Richardson, who visited North Korea eight times between 1992 and 2013.