The United Nations Security Council Friday imposed fresh sanctions on North Korea in a unanimous 15-0 vote on a U.S.-drafted resolution – complicating the narrative that the U.S. has isolated itself over its decision to declare Jerusalem the capital of Israel.
Resolution 2397 was adopted unanimously by the Security Council, with China and Russia voting for the resolution. Both countries have pushed back on a number of tough measures the U.S. has proposed to deal with aggression by North Korea.
The resolution imposes sanctions on the rogue regime’s energy sector as well as limits on imports, exports, and overseas North Korean workers who are often used as a way for the regime to earn money for its weapons program. The New York Times reports that the sanctions will cut imports of refined petroleum by 89 percent, while countries are urged to inspect all North Korean vessels and stop ship-to-ship fuel transfers.
U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley, who has now managed to secure three waves of sanctions against North Korea this year on everything from oil to seafood, said the resolution sends an “unambiguous message” to Pyongyang.
“On November 29, Pyongyang launched an intercontinental ballistic missile. This was another attempt by the Kim regime to masquerade as a great power, while their people starve and their soldiers defect,” Haley said. “But for the international community, this is an unprecedented challenge from a defiant state. So we have leveled an unprecedented response.”
The vote came a day after the U.N. General Assembly voted to condemn President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. That non-binding resolution passed by a vote of 128-9.
Yet the vote in the significantly more important Security Council indicates that U.S. authority and bargaining power, at least on the issue of North Korea, has not been harmed.
Adam Shaw is a Breitbart News politics reporter based in New York. Follow Adam on Twitter: @AdamShawNY.
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