UN approves weaker sanctions on North Korea

WASHINGTON — The United Nations Security Council unanimously approved a resolution to impose new economic sanctions on North Korea for its nuclear weapons buildup but the proposed penalties were weaker than the Trump administration had sought.

The 15-0 vote marks the second unanimous decision against North Korea in the weeks since it unexpectedly tested intercontinental ballistic missiles and an apparent hydrogen bomb.

After late-night negotiations Sunday with China, the U.S. delegation broadly weakened a sanctions proposal that Beijing was unwilling to support. China’s co-operation is key to enforcing any sanctions.

The move shows the continued division among major world powers as they grapple with a government that has repeatedly defied UN resolutions.

The initial U.S. resolution had included a ban on oil exports to North Korea, which would have severely crippled the isolated nation’s economy, and a freeze on the personal assets of its leader, Kim Jong Un.

But as China and Russia made their opposition known, U.S. diplomats backed down, agreeing to gradually reduce, instead of ban, oil exports to Pyongyang. Exports of refined oil to North Korea will be cut in about half, to 2 million barrels annually, according to a United States diplomat involved in the talks.

The proposed freeze of Kim’s assets abroad was dropped altogether.

So far, sanctions have done little to slow North Korea’s relentless progress in developing nuclear arms.