United Nations imposes new sanctions on North Korea

The United Nations Security Council on 30 November 2016 voted to tighten sanctions on North Korea in response to the country’s fifth and largest nuclear test.

The council unanimously approved the sanctions resolution following months of diplomatic arguments over how best to respond to North Korea’s latest nuclear test in September 2016.

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has been under UN sanctions since 2006 over its nuclear and ballistic missile tests.

What are the new sanctions?

• The new sanctions target North Korea’s hard currency revenues by placing a cap on coal exports, cutting them by at least 62 per cent.

• In total, the sanction will cut down at least USD 800 million per year the hard currency that the country has to fund its prohibited weapons programs. The prohibited weapons programmes constitute a full 25 percent of North Korea’s entire export revenues.

• The sanctions would also put a ban on the country’s exports of non-ferrous metals and sanction 11 government officials as well as 10 entities linked to the country’s nuclear weapons program.

• They also include an array of other measures cracking down on North Korea’s access to the international banking system and on its export of statues.