US urges world to sever ties with North Korea

By Yi Whan-woo

The United States has asked the rest of the world to “downgrade or sever” their diplomatic and economic relations with North Korea, according to a senior U.S. official.

Daniel Russel, assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, said such a request was made in response to the Kim Jong-un regime’s growing military threats, including its fourth and fifth nuclear tests this year.

“The threats have become more frequent and the rhetoric more alarming,” he said during a Senate Committee on Foreign Relations subcommittee hearing in Washington D.C., Wednesday.

“Mere days ago, North Korea’s foreign minister delivered a defiant speech to the U.N. General Assembly, stating that the United States will ‘face consequences beyond imagination’ from North Korea.

“This month, we instructed our embassies around the world to ask host governments to condemn the test and take further additional actions to downgrade or sever diplomatic and economic ties.”

The remarks came after South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se questioned North Korea’s qualification as a U.N. member in a speech at the U.N. General Assembly, saying the North was “totally ridiculing” the U.N.’s authority.

The allies appear to be taking steps to evict Pyongyang from the global body.

Russel claimed that North Korea has viewed diplomatic meetings and visits as “important markers of its international legitimacy” amid its accelerated international isolation.

As of Sunday, 75 countries have issued statements condemning North Korea’s nuclear tests, and cancelled or downgraded planned meetings or visits with Pyongyang officials, according to Russel.

He said sanctions are an important component of Washington’s strategy to prevent Pyongyang’s pursuit of nuclear ambitions and they have “created significant problems” for the Kim regime.

The sanctions, however, have not yet caused the regime to change, Russel explained.

He cited a need to tighten the U.N. Security Council (UNSCRs) resolutions that have excluded a ban on the export of North Korean-produced natural resources if such transactions are “determined to be exclusively for livelihood purposes.”

“We are working to build on previous UNSCRs to address loopholes that allow North Korea to export coal and iron ore, earning precious foreign currency for the Kim regime on the backs of enslaved workers, including children,” he said.

The U.S. blacklisted China’s Dandong Hongxiang Industrial Development Co. Ltd., its owner and three other company officials in its first-ever sanctions on a Chinese entity over its involvement in North Korea’s development of weapons of mass destruction.

Despite China’s concerns that pressure on North Korea could trigger a crisis on the border, Russel urged Beijing to “improve implementation and apply pressure needed to effect a change in North Korean behavior.”

He said the U.S. will “take all necessary steps to deter and defend against” threats from North Korea despite China’s objection in Washington’s enhanced alliance with its allies in the region.

“We closely coordinate with China on sanctions and other measures to counter North Korea’s problematic behavior, but we have not shied away from unilateral actions against North Korean actors, including those located in China,” he said.

During a separate senate hearing, Tuesday, Russel said the U.S. is working with other countries about tightening the financial sanctions on the Kim regime to “deny North Korea access to the international banking infrastructure that has been abused and manipulated in furtherance of its illicit programs.”

He referred to the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) network that enables financial institutions worldwide to send and receive information about financial transactions in a secure, standardized and reliable environment.

He also said the U.S. intends to deploy a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery to South Korea “on an accelerated basis” and “as soon as possible.”

Beijing has been against planned deployment of THAAD, claiming its long-range radar can be used to spy on its military activities despite Washington’s assurance that it will only be used to deter North Korea’s ballistic missile attacks.