U.S. extends Sudan sanctions, Pyongyang may be real target

Sudan is committed to the full implementation of U.N. Security Council resolutions President Donaldresolutions on North Korea.” Trump’s administration The comment caught the was widely expected to lift attention of North Korea several U.S. sanctions watchers. “North Korea against Sudan this week. has not traditionally been

It would have been a key part of the conversation moment in U.S.-Sudan relations over the circumstances in — some of these sanctions which those restrictions go back decades, imposed would be revoked,” Andrea under President Bill Berger, a North Korea expert Clinton in response to Sudan’s at the Middlebury Institute human rights violations of International and alleged sponsoring Studies, wrote in an article of terrorism and later for the Arms Control Wonk extended after accusations website. “It is now.” of a genocide in the Darfur U.N. sanctions on North region. Korea were first announced

However, the State in 2006 after that Department announced country conducted its first Tuesday that it would not nuclear test. As the isolated lift the sanctions. Instead, Asian state continued to the Trump administration test nuclear weapons, these plans to delay such a move, sanctions have been gradually first announced in January expanded. Since Mr. under former President Trump took office in January, Barack Obama but delayed U.S. efforts to economically for six months — and now isolate North Korea for three more months. have increased, but they appear

Given the long list of foreignto have had no discerniblepolicy issues engulfing effect on Pyongyang’s the U.S. government, the weapons program: Sudan decision went little On July 4, North Korea noticed this week. But the tested an intercontinental decision may hint at a new ballistic missile (ICBM) strategy toward a foreignpolicy that theoretically could hit matter far closer to Alaska. the administration’s heart: After the ICBM launch, North Korean nuclear U.N. Ambassador to the weapons. United Nations Nikki Haley

This hint is contained in suggested that past the State Department’s sanctions have been insufficient Tuesday news release on and that the United Sudan sanctions. When the States is considering other Obama White House announced options. in January its intent “The United States is prepared to lift sanctions against to use the full range Sudan, it cited improvements of our capabilities to defend by the Khartoum ourselves and our allies,” government on the counterterrorism Ms. Haley told the Security and humanitarian Council last week. fronts. This week’s So far, much of the U.S. statement argued that focus has been on pressuring more time is needed to assess China, one of North whether Sudan had indeed Korea’s few allies and a major made progress in trading partner, to do these areas. more to pressure its neighbor.

But in the final line of the Mr. Trump has repeatedly statement, there was a passing spoken of the need for reference to another Beijing to do more to help area that would need to be “solve” the problem of evaluated: “ensuring that North Korea. China has The Washington Post made some limited moves — in February, it announced that it was belatedly complying with a U.N. sanction that restricted the import of North Korean coal, for example — but the actual effect on North Korea’s economy is hard to gauge. Tellingly, China’s statistics suggest that trade with North Korea is actually up this year.

In late June, the U.S. Treasury announced sanctions against some Chinese businesses and Chinese nationals alleged to have ties to North Korea. The Wall StreetJournal reported this week that the United States is considering more unilateral sanctions against Chinese companies that do business with North Korea.

But China is far from the only nation with economic ties to North Korea. As The Washington Post’s Kevin Sieff recently reported, North Korea has many surprisinglylucrative ties with nations in Africa.

These links were formed in the 1960s, when North Korea supported struggles against colonialism, but later evolved into more purely commercial relationships, with Pyongyang selling military equipment or sending laborers. While some African nations appear to have complied with U.N. sanctions, many of the financial ties have endured and have proven hard for the international community to keep tabs on.

Sudan’s interest in North Korea appears to have been primarily focused on military equipment. A U.N. report released last year found that Sudan had bought sophisticated air-to-ground missiles in a deal with a front company for Pyongyang’s main military contractor, Korea Mining Development Trading Corp. (KOMID) — an entity under U.N. sanctions since 2009.