UN Security Council to Vote on North Korea Sanctions

The United Nations is to vote Saturday on a proposal that would increase economic sanctions on North Korea.

The resolution would prohibit North Korea from exporting minerals and seafood products worth over $1 billion a year and block countries from granting new guest worker permits to North Koreans.

The goal of the resolution is to put pressure on the North Korean leadership to halt its nuclear ambitions and stop developing nuclear weapons.

The move for additional sanctions is in response to Pyongyang’s two intercontinental ballistic missile launches in July, which showed that the rogue nation may now have the capacity to reach the U.S. mainland and much of Europe.

Diplomats say that after weeks of negotiations between the United States and China, the Security Council has scheduled a vote in New York for 3 p.m. (1900 UTC) Saturday, as all 15 members have seen and discussed the U.S.-drafted text.

The draft text also tightens the enforcement of existing sanctions. The council has imposed several rounds of increasingly tougher targeted sanctions on North Korea since 2006 for its nuclear tests and ballistic missile launches.

The proposed resolution also designates nine North Korean individuals and four entities for asset freezes and travel bans.
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