President Donald Trump and his top envoy to the UN say the latest sanctions against North Korea are necessary to try to curb the reclusive nation’s nuclear programme.
Mr. Trump early Tuesday tweeted: “After many years of failure, countries are coming together to finally address the dangers posed by North Korea. We must be tough & decisive!”
The UN Security Council unanimously imposed new sanctions on North Korea on Saturday over its continued missile tests that could slash the reclusive country's $3 billion annual export revenue by a third.
UN Ambassador Nikki Haley told NBC’s Today show that she isn’t sure whether the sanctions will work. North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un has expressed no interest in walking away from his nuclear and ballistic missile programme, and the country has survived past sanctions.
Endgame for Kim
But Ms. Haley says the sanctions force Mr. Kim to rethink his “endgame”. “He has to decide. If he strikes the United States, is that something he can win?”
Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China will pay the biggest price from the new UN sanctions against North Korea because of its close economic relationship with the country.
Speaking at a regional security forum in Manila on Monday, Mr. Wang said the new resolution showed China and the international community’s opposition to North Korea’s continued missile tests.
“Owing to China’s traditional economic ties with North Korea, it will mainly be China paying the price for implementing the resolution,” the statement cited Mr. Wang as saying.
China, North Korea's lone major ally, has repeatedly said it is committed to enforcing increasingly tough U.N. resolutions on North Korea