The United States said it was not the right time to lift sanctions on North Korea, in answer to a draft resolution submitted by China and Russia to the United Nations.
An official from the U.S. State Department told the press Wednesday that it has no plans of lifting sanctions on North Korea. It was not the right time, most especially that the country is acting aggressively by its refusal to discuss denuclearization which was the root cause of the sanction, to begin with.
North Korea continues to develop prohibited weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles, the official told the press. The official said the Trump administration, nevertheless, will commit to using diplomacy in convincing North Korea to follow through with agreements made with the UN.
The U.S. was not alone in its decision. Britain and France agreed that no sanctions should be lifted unless North Korea agreed to surrender nuclear and ballistic missile programs completely.
For the draft resolution from China and Russia to be finalized, there should be nine votes in favor of "yes" and there should be no vetoes coming from the U.S., France, Britain, Russia, and China.
There are sanctions in place against North Korea since 2006 because of the country's nuclear stockpile. Political observers thought that issues will be smoothened out when North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made the unprecedented move of reaching out to the United States.
The North Korean leader had even made the world rejoice when he made peace with South Korea when he and South Korean President Moon Jae-in crossed the respective borders in 2018.
Kim Jong Un and Trump met three times since June 2018 but the two parties failed to resolve. All hopes were gone when North Korea's U.N. Envoy said early this month that North Korea is putting denuclearization off the table.
The draft resolution from China and Russia argued that the U.N Security Council, together with the member nations, should reward North Korea after it has promised to start denuclearization. The country pledged to work on it in parts instead of a complete halt suggested by the U.S.
China and Russia did not want an entire lifting of the ban. The nations only wanted that the U.N Security Council allow North Korea to import statues, seafood, and textiles again. These are the industries that used to pump millions to North Korea's economy.
Further, China and Russia wanted the nations involved to discuss once again. The two nations want to restart dialogue at all levels between the U.S. and North Korea in the hopes to renew friendly geopolitical relations.
