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UN Security Council imposes further sanctions on N Korea over missile test

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New York: The UN Security Council on Friday unanimously passed further sanctions on North Korea for its repeated nuclear and ballistic missile tests, adding more pressure on the regime of leader Kim Jong-Un to end his country’s weapons programmes.


The 15-member council passed the beefed-up sanctions, marking the fourth round of restrictions approved against the isolated communist country this year as part of an international effort to force it to dismantle its missile programmes.


The new sanctions are aimed at hitting North Korea hard on energy imports by slashing deliveries of petroleum products such as gasoline, diesel and heavy oil from 2 million barrels per year to only 500,000 barrels from January 1.


In a bid to stop North Korea from earning hard currency, the sanctions also impose a ban on the export of food and agricultural products, machinery, electrical equipment, earth and stone, wood and ships.


In addition, other countries are prohibited under the resolution from selling industrial machinery, transport vehicles, iron, steel and other metals to Pyongyang.


It also adds 16 individuals to the list of people subject to travel bans and asset freezes and calls for the repatriation within 12 months of all North Korean nationals working in foreign countries and sending money home.


US President Donald Trump welcomed the new sanctions in a tweet. “The World wants Peace, not Death!” he said.


North Korea last month tested an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) which it said could reach the US mainland. The claim was backed up by the South Korean government, which estimated it could reach as far as 13,000 kilometres.


US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley supported Friday’s measure, citing stories of women undergoing forced abortions without anaesthesia, desperate soldiers risking being shot in order to escape hunger and disease, and other harrowing stories of imprisonment, public executions and starvation.


She said the stories were examples of conditions in North Korea, “the most tragic example of evil in the modern world.”


British Ambassador to the UN Matthew Rycroft said the sanctions send a “clear, uncompromising message” that force Kim to see that he has a choice to end his country’s missile programmes.


“We call on North Korea to change course and prioritise the well-being of their people over the pursuit of illegal nuclear weapons,” Rycroft said. — dpa


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