China and Russia veto new sanctions on N. Korea
STORY: China and Russia on Thursday vetoed a resolution to impose more UN sanctions on North Korea.
The U.S. had drafted that resolution in response to a string of missile tests this year.
Thursday’s vote was the first time the Security Council has split over the issue since 2006, when North Korea fired off its first nuclear test.
U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said she was disappointed but not surprised.
"We have been circulating a draft of this resolution for nine weeks. In that time, the countries vetoing this resolution have refused to engage on the text, despite our commitment to inclusivity and flexibility during consultations."
Among other restrictions. the resolution banned oil and tobacco exports to North Korea.
The country’s leader Kim Jong Un is a chain smoker.
It also would have blacklisted a group of hackers called the Lazarus group.
For Russia’s part, it wants to ease up on North Korea.
According to its UN ambassador. sanctions are a “dead end."
“As history has shown us, the paradigm of sanctions has still not been able to guarantee security in the region or resolve issues of missile and nuclear nonproliferation."
China also wants to lift some sanctions, hoping to lure North Korea back to negotiations with the U.S.
Denuclearization talks stalled out after the last summit between leader Kim and former President Donald Trump
in 2019.
The issue is now set to be taken up by the UN’s General Assembly.
Just a day before Thursday’s vote, Pyongyang fired off three missiles.
Washington has warned that a nuclear test could be next.
