13 September, 2017
Bitcoin and other forms of virtual money - known as cryptocurrencies - appeal to North Korea as the US pursues worldwide sanctions aimed at further isolating the country, according to a new report from FireEye. Now it calls only for a reduction.
Russia's United Nations ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, told the Security Council on Monday that Moscow supported the resolution because "leaving nuclear tests without a firm reaction would be wrong".
"We wanted those who would be inclined to water down the text to own that position", said the USA official.
On Tuesday, Trump appeared to downplay the significance of the United Nations sanctions. "But those sanctions are nothing compared to what ultimately will have to happen".
Haley reacted to the bomb test last week by calling for the fullest range of global sanctions, including a cutoff of all oil supplies, in a new Security Council resolution. The new measures include limiting North Korea's imports of petroleum products and banning textile exports.
A single bitcoin is now worth more than $4,300, up from less then $1,000 at the start of the year.
The ban started on August 28, the teller said.
In order to pressure Beijing and Moscow to do more, the US has to go after more companies and individuals that are suspected of doing business with the North Korean regime, according to Ruggiero.
Trump is said to plan a visit to China in November. But Ruggiero, a former official at the State and Treasury departments, has called for the U.S.to go further by slapping a big fine on a notable Chinese bank.
US Ambassador Nikki Haley said the tough new measures were a message to Pyongyang that "the world will never accept a nuclear-armed North Korea", but she also held out the prospect of a peaceful resolution to the crisis.
"The best deterrence we can have, next to having our own nukes, is to make Kim Jong-un fear for his life", said Shin Won-sik, a three-star general who was the South Korean military's top operational strategist before he retired in 2015. "I'm not sure how much time they're going to give China to implement a resolution like this".
"The latest UNSC resolution represents the worldwide community's renewed commitment not to tolerate the North's nuclear and missile development", the government said in a statement obtained by Yonhap News.
Experts have repeatedly warned that Kim's regime will protect the weapons program above all else.
Official documents and interviews point to a rise in tanker traffic this spring between North Korean ports and Vladivostok, the far-eastern Russian city near the small land border shared by the two countries.
"To change its behaviour, deter it from carrying out illegal tests and bring it back to the negotiating table", Ms Bishop said.
"North Korea has set its sights on the so-called next generation financial markets, including virtual currencies, pin-tech and blockchains", he told journalists last week.
