New Delhi:
The United Nations Security Council is set to vote on a United States-drafted resolution that aims to slash one-third of $ 3 billion annual export of North Korea on Saturday over Pyongyang’s two inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM) tests in July.
The draft was circulated to 15 Security Council members on Friday. The resolution needs nine votes and no vetoes by the United States, Russia, France, Britain and China.
The US-drafted resolution aims to ban North Korea’s export of coal, iron, iron ore, lead ore and seafood. The resolution will also ban countries from increasing the numbers of North Korean labourers working, ban new joint ventures and any new investment with country.
A Reuters report quoting one of its source from the council diplomat wrote, “These are export sectors where this money is viewed as a critical source of hard money.”
The article further read, “The North immediately turns around into its fantastically expensive war machine and these just amazingly expensive ballastic missile and nuclear weapons programs.”
The article further read quoting the diplomat that the sanctions are not targeted at the people of North Korean.
The diplomat further told the news agency that there was a ‘high confidence’ that China and Russia, who are allies of North Korean would support the US-drafted resolution.
North Korea has been under U.N. sanctions since 2006 over its ballistic missile and nuclear programs. According the the report published in the agency North Korea has been estimated to earn $400 million from coal, $251 million from iron and iron ore, $113 million from lead and lead ore and $295 million from seafood in 2017.
According to United Nations human rights investigator North Korea has forced more than 50,000 people to work abroad, earning the country between $1.2 billion and $2.3 billion a year for the Korean government.
