Japan, US, S. Korea keen to make new N. Korea sanctions work

September 13, 2017

TOKYO- Following the adoption of a fresh UN Security Council resolution against North Korea on Monday, Japan, the United States and South Korea are keen to ensure that new sanctions introduced by the resolution will have a real effect on the reclusive country.

The three allies are at the same time staying on high alert for further provocations by North Korea, such as an intercontinental ballistic missile test, as the country is certain to react sharply toward the new resolution.

The UNSC resolution calls for imposing ceilings on crude oil and oil product exports to North Korea. The US government estimates that if the measures are fully implemented, annual crude oil and oil products exports to the country will fall by 30 pct from the current level.

The new sanctions also include a total embargo on North Korean textile products, a main export item of the country, and a ban on accepting workers from North Korea.

"The international community is urged to implement the new sanctions resolution," Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters on Tuesday. "It's important to add an unprecedentedly high level of pressure on North Korea to change its policy course."

During a political dialogue with Arab nations in Cairo on Monday, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono called on the Arab side not to allow loopholes in the sanctions against North Korea.

Meanwhile, Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera said at a press conference in Tokyo on Tuesday, "We can't rule out the possibility that North Korea will stage further provocations." He underscored Japan's readiness to maintain extra vigilance under its security alliance with the United States.

The administration of US President Donald Trump is also poised to urge other countries to fully implement the new UN sanctions. It is expected to push China and Russia to do so by suggesting an expansion of its unilateral sanctions against Chinese and Russian companies doing business with North Korea.

The United States may seek additional sanctions, including a total oil embargo, which was skipped in the latest UNSC resolution, if North Korea continues provocations, such as ballistic missile launches and nuclear testing.

In a speech after the new resolution was adopted at a UNSC meeting in New York, US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said: "We are not looking for war. The North Korean regime has not yet passed the point of no return."

South Korean President Moon Jae-in has called for seeking a fundamental solution to the North Korean problem to end the situation in which North Korea continues provocations despite increasing pressure from the international community.

The South Korean government seems willing to consider sending a special envoy to the North in appropriate circumstances. A condition for this is expected to be that North Korea stop conducting nuclear and missile tests. Jiji Press