China is resisting US-led pressure to expand United Nations sanctions on North Korea, and a fresh push will come in January when South Korea joins the Security Council, according to four UN diplomats.
North Korea’s rocket launch a week ago drew condemnation from the UN Security Council for violating its resolutions barring the country from conducting ballistic-missile and nuclear tests. Yet any punishment will have to wait while diplomats try to win China’s assent.
Western nations favor expanding the UN blacklist of individuals and entities subject to travel bans and asset freezes, according to the four diplomats who asked not to be named because talks are preliminary. China, as one of the council’s five veto-wielding powers, can block measures to punish its neighbor.