Pyongyang should face more sanctions for ICBM launch
The U.N. Security Council failed to take any action Friday against North Korea for test-firing an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) last week. China and Russia were held accountable for the failure as they were against the council's adoption of any statement condemning the North's provocation.
It is regrettable that the UNSC could not afford to issue at least a press statement on the matter. The objection by the council's two permanent members with veto-wielding power has made the world body remain silent on the North's blatant violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions against its nuclear tests and ICBM launches.
The council's inaction came despite efforts by South Korea, the U.S. and other countries to prevent Pyongyang from making further provocations. This is raising concerns that China, Russia and North Korea are moving toward strengthening their three-way alliance against the U.S., Japan and South Korea amid an emerging new Cold War. Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the Sino-U.S. rivalry have been reshaping the international order to the detriment of peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.
It is hard to understand why Beijing and Moscow are trying to defend Pyongyang despite the North's unlawful actions. They should join international efforts to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction just as they did in 2017 when the North launched an ICBM and conducted its sixth nuclear test. Otherwise, they should get the blame for giving the Kim Jong-un regime carte blanche to increase its military threats not only in East Asia, but also around the world.
No country can overlook Kim's scrapping of his self-imposed moratorium on long-range missile launches and nuclear tests which had been in place since April 2018. On Thursday, the North test-fired the Hwasong-17 ICBM which it said flew 1,090 kilometers at a top altitude of 6,249 kilometers for 67 minutes. The latest launch followed 11 rounds of ballistic missile tests, including the firing of a hypersonic missile, this year.
More worrisome is that Pyongyang might continue its missile launches as well as resume its nuclear tests amid the Ukraine crisis and South Korea's power transition period. There are reports that the North is reconstructing the Punggyeri nuclear test site that it demolished in 2018. Against this backdrop, Seoul needs to engage in more active diplomacy to make Pyongyang pay the price for its military buildup.
The U.S. is seeking to impose additional UNSC sanctions on the North. It is expected to push for a cut in the cap on North Korea's imports of crude oil and refined oil which is currently set at 4 million barrels and 500,000 barrels, respectively, per year. However such a reduction seems unfeasible because China and Russia are sure to oppose it.
The outgoing Moon Jae-in government and the incoming Yoon Suk-yeol administration should exhaust every effort to stop the North from making further provocations. President-elect Yoon needs to hold a summit with U.S. President Joe Biden soon after he is inaugurated on May 10, in order to strengthen the Seoul-Washington security alliance and prod Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear program and the development of ICBMs.
The U.N. Security Council failed to take any action Friday against North Korea for test-firing an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) last week. China and Russia were held accountable for the failure as they were against the council's adoption of any statement condemning the North's provocation.
It is regrettable that the UNSC could not afford to issue at least a press statement on the matter. The objection by the council's two permanent members with veto-wielding power has made the world body remain silent on the North's blatant violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions against its nuclear tests and ICBM launches.
The council's inaction came despite efforts by South Korea, the U.S. and other countries to prevent Pyongyang from making further provocations. This is raising concerns that China, Russia and North Korea are moving toward strengthening their three-way alliance against the U.S., Japan and South Korea amid an emerging new Cold War. Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the Sino-U.S. rivalry have been reshaping the international order to the detriment of peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.
It is hard to understand why Beijing and Moscow are trying to defend Pyongyang despite the North's unlawful actions. They should join international efforts to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction just as they did in 2017 when the North launched an ICBM and conducted its sixth nuclear test. Otherwise, they should get the blame for giving the Kim Jong-un regime carte blanche to increase its military threats not only in East Asia, but also around the world.
No country can overlook Kim's scrapping of his self-imposed moratorium on long-range missile launches and nuclear tests which had been in place since April 2018. On Thursday, the North test-fired the Hwasong-17 ICBM which it said flew 1,090 kilometers at a top altitude of 6,249 kilometers for 67 minutes. The latest launch followed 11 rounds of ballistic missile tests, including the firing of a hypersonic missile, this year.
More worrisome is that Pyongyang might continue its missile launches as well as resume its nuclear tests amid the Ukraine crisis and South Korea's power transition period. There are reports that the North is reconstructing the Punggyeri nuclear test site that it demolished in 2018. Against this backdrop, Seoul needs to engage in more active diplomacy to make Pyongyang pay the price for its military buildup.
The U.S. is seeking to impose additional UNSC sanctions on the North. It is expected to push for a cut in the cap on North Korea's imports of crude oil and refined oil which is currently set at 4 million barrels and 500,000 barrels, respectively, per year. However such a reduction seems unfeasible because China and Russia are sure to oppose it.
The outgoing Moon Jae-in government and the incoming Yoon Suk-yeol administration should exhaust every effort to stop the North from making further provocations. President-elect Yoon needs to hold a summit with U.S. President Joe Biden soon after he is inaugurated on May 10, in order to strengthen the Seoul-Washington security alliance and prod Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear program and the development of ICBMs.
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