The U.S. Calls for Full Implementation of Sanctions Against North Korea

On Friday, July 19, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged members of the Security Council and the international community to fully enforce sanctions against Pyongyang until North Korea is denuclearized. According to Reuters, Pompeo issued this warning after presenting his report on his trip to Pyongyang to the United Nations Security Council, cautioning against any reduction of sanctions against North Korea. The report states that the Secretary of State made these remarks in response to proposals from Russia and China to discuss the issue of reducing sanctions on North Korea in the Security Council. The United Nations Security Council has imposed sanctions against North Korea since 2006. U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un agreed on denuclearization during their summit in Singapore in June. Pompeo told reporters on Friday, 'Chairman Kim promised... that he is ready to denuclearize North Korea. The scope and dimensions of the denuclearization were agreed upon. Now we must see if Chairman Kim will fulfill that promise.' Pompeo also called for an end to violations of North Korean sanctions. Nikki Haley, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, emphasized that the best way to support negotiations between the U.S. and North Korea is through the full implementation of sanctions against Pyongyang, not their reduction. Haley told reporters that nothing should be done until North Korea fulfills its promises for denuclearization. According to Reuters, the U.S. complained to the Security Council in late May that North Korea illegally imported oil products 89 times this year through 'ship-to-ship' transfers at sea, which violates international sanctions against Pyongyang. The U.S. has requested that the transfer of refined oil products to North Korea be completely halted. However, China and Russia blocked the process of reviewing this request and have called for further explanations from the U.S. on this matter. Haley stated on Friday, 'Why did Russia and China block the review of this request? What does that tell us? They are telling us they want to continue supplying oil to North Korea? They claim they need more information; we do not need more information.' She added, 'Today we are putting pressure on Russia and China to comply with their commitments and to be a helpful part of the current situation and assist us in the denuclearization process of North Korea.' In response to Haley's remarks, Dmitry Polyanskiy, Russia's Deputy Representative to the United Nations, stated that Moscow fully adheres to the resolution against North Korea.