Emergency Security Council Meeting on North Korea's Nuclear Test

The United Nations Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on Monday morning New York time regarding North Korea's recent nuclear test. According to the U.S. mission to the United Nations, this meeting will be convened at the request of the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, France, and South Korea. North Korea conducted its sixth and most powerful nuclear test on Sunday, which is claimed to be an advanced hydrogen bomb for long-range missiles. The recent nuclear test by North Korea has faced severe international condemnation, and in this context, U.S. President Donald Trump emphasized that appeasement with North Korea is fruitless. Previously, the U.S. had described the Security Council meeting on North Korea as pointless through its envoy Nikki Haley, stating that a weak resolution in this regard is 'worse' than issuing no resolution at all. The last action by the Security Council regarding North Korea was less than a month ago in response to the test of two intercontinental missiles by Pyongyang, which resulted in new sanctions against the country. These sanctions, if fully implemented, would cause North Korea to lose two-thirds of its $3 billion revenue. These sanctions were supported by China and Russia, two permanent members of the Security Council, both of which have close political and economic ties with North Korea, and the United States blames them for North Korea's increasing threats. Other permanent members of the Security Council are among the requesters for the emergency meeting on Monday. Currently, China is North Korea's largest trading partner, accounting for more than three-quarters of North Korea's exports and imports. Russia's share of trade with North Korea is much smaller, but it remains the second-largest partner for North Korea in imports and the third-largest in exports. On Sunday, President Trump mentioned in a series of tweets regarding North Korea's actions, including considering the option of halting trade with countries that engage in trade with North Korea, adding that this option is 'under consideration alongside other options.' Leaders of China and Russia, both of whom participated in a three-day meeting in Xiamen, China, expressed concern over North Korea's recent actions and called for restraint from all parties.