UN to vote on new N. Korea sanctions targeting oil

UNITED NATIONS (AFP) – The UN Security Council will vote on a US-drafted resolution ramping up sanctions on North Korea by restricting oil supplies vital for Pyongyang's missile and nuclear programs.

The United States has been in negotiations with China, Pyongyang's ally, on slapping new sanctions in response to the November 28 test of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

The vote is scheduled for 1:00 pm (1800 GMT), diplomats said.

Building on previous sanctions resolutions, the new draft tightens restrictions on crude and refined oil deliveries to North Korea, most of which are supplied by China.

The measure would ban the supply of nearly 90 percent of refined oil products to North Korea and order the repatriation of all North Korean nationals working abroad within 12 months, according to the text obtained by AFP.

US President Donald Trump asked Chinese President Xi Jinping last month to cut off oil to North Korea, a move that would deal a crippling blow to its desperately struggling economy.

Tens of thousands of North Koreans have been sent to Russia and China to earn hard currency for Pyongyang, working in what UN rights officials have described as "slave-like conditions."

The draft resolution would cap crude oil supplies to four million barrels per year and require countries to seek UN permission to ship crude to North Korea.

Deliveries of refined petroleum products including diesel and kerosene would be capped at 500,000 barrels for next year, according to the measure that would order all countries to report their shipments to the United Nations.