North Korea may face U.N.-led restrictions even on its ordinary trade if it goes ahead with a long-range rocket launch or another nuclear test, South Korea’s ambassador to the U.N. said Tuesday.
Ambassador Oh Joon said there are more sanctions that can be imposed on the North, although it’s already under a wide web of punitive measures for its previous provocations.
“For example, ordinary trade is not the subject of sanctions. But it could be affected if sanctions widen,” he said in a phone interview with the CBS radio station based in Seoul.
In case the North takes such a provocative step, the U.N. Security Council will convene an emergency session almost automatically under the so-called trigger clause in the council’s resolution adopted after Pyongyang’s nuclear test in 2013, he pointed out.
“The council is expected to adopt a resolution to strengthen sanctions,” the veteran diplomat said.
Last week, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry hinted at other means to deal with the isolated country’s repeated provocations.
“It may take more than sanctions with respect to North Korea because of its total absence of a legitimate economy,” he told reporters.
But the level of any additional punishment against Pyongyang would depend heavily on two of the veto-wielding members of the council — China and Russia.
They tend to be reluctant to push for strong sanctions on the North for a long-range rocket launch, which the secretive country claims to be part of its space program.
Both Beijing and Moscow have a record of endorsing tough resolutions on Pyongyang for its nuclear tests. (Yonhap)
