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From left to right, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US ambassador to the UN; Cho Hyun, the South Korean ambassador to the UN; and Kimihiro Ishikane, the Japanese ambassador to the UN hold a press briefing following a closed-door meeting on March 25. (AP/Yonhap News)

The US warned that it will push for stronger additional sanctions against North Korea at the UN Security Council in response to the country’s test launch of the Hwasong-17, the newest addition to its intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) arsenal. As US ties with both China and Russia have significantly worsened following intensifying strategic competition between the US and China and the escalating war in Ukraine, the US had a tough — if not impossible — time trying to bring about the cooperation it needs from Security Council members in order to realize its goal.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US ambassador to the UN, said during an open meeting of the Security Council on Friday that “we also cannot stand idly by in the face of [North Korea’s] repeated security resolution violations,” adding that the US will be introducing a resolution to “update and strengthen the sanctions regime” against Pyongyang.

In response to North Korea’s test-launch of the Hwasong-17, a new ICBM that puts the entire US mainland within reach of North Korean missiles, the US urged the 15-member council to discuss strengthening sanctions against Pyongyang in order to counter its “egregious and unprovoked escalation.”

Cho Hyun, South Korea’s ambassador to the UN, expressed the country’s support of US plans to introduce a new resolution. The UK as well as other countries voiced their support for additional sanctions as well.

The last open meeting of the UN Security Council regarding North Korea’s nuclear and missile program was held in December of 2019.

In Friday’s meeting, the US argued that additional sanctions against North Korea should automatically follow the current situation according to Security Council Resolution 2397, which was introduced in response to Pyongyang’s test of the Hwasong-15 missile. Unanimously adopted in late December of 2017, the resolution limited crude oil supplies to North Korea to 4 million barrels a year and refined petroleum supplies to the country to 500,000 barrels a year. The resolution also included a “trigger clause” that read, “if [North Korea] conducts a further nuclear test or a launch of a ballistic missile system [. . .] then the Security Council will take action to further restrict the export to [North Korea] of petroleum.”

Thomas-Greenfield said that “a launch of a ballistic missile system” was “precisely what happened.”

“Now is the time to take that action,” she added.

In contrast, China and Russia made clear that they will not be cooperating with the US — unlike in 2017, when Pyongyang successively launched ICBMs ranging from the Hwasong-14 to the Hwasong-15, even going so far as to conduct its sixth nuclear test. While stating that “no parties should take any action that would lead to greater tensions,” China’s ambassador to the UN, Zhang Jun, said, “the US must not continue to brush aside [North Korea’s] legitimate demands” and “offer an attractive proposal to pave the way for early resumed dialogue.”

Similarly, Anna Evstigneeva, Russia’s deputy ambassador to the UN, stressed that added sanctions will “expose the people of North Korea to risks of inadmissible socio-economic and humanitarian turbulence.”

Both China and Russia approved Security Council sanctions against Pyongyang in 2017, when North Korean provocations reached new heights and led to some harsh words being exchanged between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and then-US President Donald Trump. China and Russia have been advocating for the easing of sanctions against North Korea ever since April 2018, when the country began engaging in dialogue with South Korea and the US and even declared a moratorium on testing nuclear weapons and missiles.

With China and Russia expressly rejecting the US’ call for action, it’s become highly unlikely that additional sanctions against Pyongyang at the level of the Security Council will be implemented. Observers say the two countries of China and Russia have been displaying a permissive attitude towards North Korea and its behavior crossing the “redline” due to the rift they’ve widened within the Security Council in the past five years as its permanent members.

Upon taking office, the US administration of Joe Biden singled out China in its national security strategy guidance, published last March, as its “only competitor potentially capable of combining its economic, diplomatic, military, and technological power to mount a sustained challenge to a stable and open international system.” Since then, the US has been strengthening its enclosure of China by advancing its different strategic partnerships, such as the Quad and AUKUS.

Meanwhile, US-Russia relations have hit an all-time low following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24.

The US and other countries also pushed for a press statement at the Security Council level, which ultimately did not come to fruition due to opposition from China and Russia. Because of this, UN ambassadors including those of South Korea, the US, and Japan held a briefing after the Security Council meeting, during which they “condemn[ed], in the strongest terms, [North Korea’s] intercontinental ballistic missile launch on the morning of March 24.”

“[North Korea] is demonstrating its determination to continue advancing its weapons programs as it escalates its provocative behavior—and yet the Council has remained silent,” the ambassadors added, criticizing China and Russia.

By Lee Bon-young, Washington correspondent

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