ON MARCH 2nd the UN agreed to the most sweeping sanctions it has yet imposed on North Korea in response to the country’s nuclear and missile tests of the past decade. The measures include inspections of all goods going to or coming from the country; a total embargo on all arms sales to it; and a ban on exports from it of coal, iron and other minerals. They were approved by all 15 members of its Security Council including Russia, after it delayed a vote to negotiate small changes to the text, and China, which opposes its ally’s nuclear programme but has been reluctant to punish it seriously.
Hopes have been raised before that consensus at the UN might force North Korea to abandon its efforts. “Swift and tough” was how America described a resolution passed by the UN after North Korea’s inaugural atomic test in 2006. Yet despite further such resolutions, the North’s bomb-building programme chugs along. Few expect it to give it up soon. But a toughening of China’s stance—assuming it implements the sanctions rigorously—may give North Korea pause. China is by far the country’s biggest trading partner. Most of the trade covered by...Continue reading
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