North Korea crisis: US seeks Kim Jong-un asset freeze
The US has proposed a range of new
United Nations sanctions against North Korea, including an oil ban and a
freeze on leader Kim Jong-un's assets.
The draft resolution
circulated to the Security Council members comes after North Korea's
sixth nuclear test and repeated missile launches.
Pyongyang also claims to have developed a hydrogen bomb and continues to threaten to strike the US.
China and Russia are both expected to oppose further sanctions.
North Korea is already under highly restrictive sanctions
imposed by the UN that are intended to force the leadership to curtail
its weapons programmes.
In August, a new round of sanctions banned exports including coal, costing North Korea an estimated $1bn (£767m) - about a third of its entire export economy.
But some trade avenues remain open to it.
The
draft US proposal calls for a total ban on supplying a range of oil
products to North Korea and a ban on its textile export industry.
It
also suggests freezing the assets of Mr Kim and the North Korean
government, as well as banning him and other senior officials from
travelling.
North Korean labourers would also be banned from working abroad.
Remittances
from foreign earnings and textile exports are two of the most important
remaining sources of income for North Korea.
But the US is
expected to face opposition from China and Russia, which both supply oil
to North Korea and wield vetoes at the Security Council.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has argued that the amount of oil his country exports to North Korea - some 40,000 tonnes - is negligible.
"It is not worth giving in to emotions and driving North Korea into a corner," he said.
China is both North Korea's and the US' biggest trade partner, and has supported recent sanctions against it.
But both China and Russia have been pushing for an alternative solution.
They are proposing that the US and ally South Korea stop their
military drills - which anger the North - and end the deployment of the
controversial anti-missile Thaad system in South Korea, in return for
Pyongyang ceasing its nuclear and missile programme.
The proposal has been rejected by the US and South Korea.
On Thursday, the South's military announced it had completed the deployment of Thaad, reported Yonhap news agency.
US President Donald Trump had previously warned the US could cut off trade with countries that do business with North Korea.
The
US has indicated that if the resolution is not passed when the Security
Council meets next Monday it may impose its own sanctions unilaterally.
Treasury
Secretary Steve Mnuchin told reporters on Wednesday night: "We believe
that we need to economically cut off North Korea.
"I have an
executive order prepared. It's ready to go to the president. It will
authorise me to... put sanctions on anybody that does trade with North
Korea."
Mr Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping also discussed North Korea
over the phone on Wednesday, where they agreed to "take further action",
said a White House statement.
The US president, who has
previously threatened a military response to North Korea, told reporters
this was was "not our first choice", but did not rule it out.
Mr
Trump added: "President Xi would like to do something. We'll see
whether or not he can do it. But we will not be putting up with what's
happening in North Korea."
Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported that Mr Xi called for a "peaceful settlement of the issue" involving "dialogue combined with a set of comprehensive measures".
BBC
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