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Ambassadors to the UN from Russia (Vasily Nebenzya)

On Sept. 4, US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said that the Trump administration’s goal is for the UN Security Council to pass a new sanctions resolution against North Korea by Sept. 11 in response to North Korea’s sixth nuclear test. Since China is also believed to be very upset about North Korea’s nuclear test, observers think it is very likely that Beijing will accept the US request to cap the North’s supply of crude oil.

During an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council held at the UN headquarters in New York on Sept. 4, Haley said that a draft of the new resolution would be circulated this week with the goal of passing the resolution on Sept. 11. She expressed her hope that negotiations could be wrapped up by that time.

It’s highly unusual for the US to try to have a new sanctions resolution passed within such a short timeframe. It took 82 days for the UN Security Council to adopt Resolution No. 2321 in response to North Korea’s fifth nuclear test in Sept. 2016. It took 30 days to adopt Resolution No. 2371 after North Korea launched an ICBM on July 4. Haley’s remarks show that she intends to greatly accelerate the adoption of the resolution given the urgency and gravity of this matter.

"We have taken an incremental approach [toward North Korea], and despite the best of intentions, it has not worked,” Haley said. “The time for half measures in the Security Council is over. The time has come to exhaust all of our diplomatic means, before it’s too late.”

“Only the strongest sanctions will enable us to resolve this problem through diplomacy,” Haley said, calling on the UN Security Council to “adopt the strongest possible measures.” This is thought to reflect the US’s determination to have the new resolution include a section about China’s supply of crude oil, which is regarded as the “life line” for North Korea’s energy industry and economy.

“The United States will look at every country that does business with North Korea as a country that is giving aid to their reckless and dangerous nuclear intentions,” Haley said, suggesting that the US is determined to keep a close eye on the implementation of the resolution after it is adopted.

Haley said that Kim Jong’un “is begging for war. War is never something the United States wants. We don’t want it now. But our country’s patience is not unlimited. We will defend our allies and our territory.”

One of the biggest questions about the new resolution being considered by the UN Security Council is whether it will include a cap on China’s supply of crude oil to North Korea. “The Chinese [public’s] view toward North Korea is very unfavorable. While the supply is unlikely to be cut off altogether, China is expected to be willing to cap the supply,” a diplomatic source in New York said on Sept. 5.

When asked during the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s regular press briefing on Sept. 4 whether China would be willing to adjust its supply of crude oil to North Korea, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Geng Shuang said, “As to how the UN Security Council will respond and what action it may take, this depends on what comes out of the discussion by its members.” This remark can be interpreted to mean that such an action would be possible if the UN Security Council reaches an agreement.

The US has also reportedly asked China not to completely shut off the flow of crude oil but to set an upper limit on that supply. The fact that Haley has set the relatively ambitious goal of reaching an agreement on the new sanctions resolution by Sept. 11 appears to be tied to the mood in China. It’s estimated that North Korea receives around 1 million tons of crude oil from China each year.

But since reducing or cutting off the supply of crude oil is virtually the only type of economic sanction that can still be used against North Korea, some analysts think that China will be reluctant to take that step. If China plays its last card, it might find itself without any more influence over the North. Russia, which reportedly supplies around 300,000 or 400,000 tons of crude oil to North Korea each year, is also thought to be hesitant to limit the flow of crude oil.

By Kim Oi-hyun, Beijing correspondent, and Yi Yong-in, Washington correspondent

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