12 September, 2017
Russian Federation and China both have veto power as permanent members of the Security Council and had expressed skepticism over the initial sanctions proposal.
The UN Security Council during an emergency meeting over North Korea's latest nuclear test, on 4 September 2017, at UN Headquarters in NY.
The foreign ministry said Monday that it chose to expel Ambassador Kim Hak-chol because of Pyongyang's repeated flaunting of resolutions by the U.N. Security Council against its nuclear program.
On Monday, the U.S. circulated a draft resolution that called for a full ban on exports of oil to North Korea and an asset freeze on leader Kim Jong Un, the Worker's Party and the government of North Korea. The jury is still out on whether North Korea tested, as it claims, a hydrogen bomb ready to be mounted on an ICBM.
A USA official, familiar with the council negotiations and speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters North Korea imported some 4.5 million barrels of refined petroleum products annually and four million barrels of crude oil. That initiative was rejected by the Trump administration.
The US had initially proposed a complete oil embargo and also said that the foreign accounts of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un should be frozen.
On September 3, the North Korean Army carried out its sixth and most powerful nuclear test with a hydrogen bomb, which triggered a strong condemnation of the worldwide community and raised tensions in the region. And the new measure adds a caveat to the original language that would have banned the import of North Korean laborers altogether, saying that countries should not provide work authorization papers unless necessary for humanitarian assistance or denuclearization.
The US had initially sought the implementation of stronger measures against North Korea, including bans on oil imports, textile exports and employing guest workers from the isolated nation.
China had long anxious that an oil cutoff altogether would lead to North Korea's collapse.
