U.S. Rejects Call from China and Russia to Drop Some Sanctions on North Korea

The Trump administration apparently has no appetite to reduce sanctions on North Korea which would reward them for a threatened provocation:

The United States on Monday rejected a reported proposal by China and Russia to lift some United Nations sanctions on North Korea, saying Pyongyang has yet to make progress toward denuclearization.

A spokesperson for the State Department made the comment after Reuters reported that China and Russia proposed a draft U.N. resolution seeking partial sanctions relief, including the lifting of sanctions on North Korean exports of statues, seafood and textiles.

“Now is not the time for the U.N. Security Council to consider offering premature sanctions relief,” the spokesperson told Yonhap News Agency in an email.

“The DPRK is threatening to conduct an escalated provocation, refusing to meet to discuss denuclearization, and continuing to maintain and advance its prohibited weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs,” the official added, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Yonhap

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