The United States is determined to have a vote at the UN Security Council on Monday on imposing tough new sanctions against North Korea despite resistance from China and Russia.
UN diplomats have said, Washington has presented a draft UN resolution calling for an oil embargo on North Korea, an assets freeze on Kim Jong-Un, a ban on textiles and an end to payments of North Korean guest workers.
UN diplomats did not rule out the possibility that China or Russia could veto the measure, but stressed that the US administration had launched a major push to win approval.
A Security Council diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he expected negotiations on the draft resolution to lead to some changes that could address Russian and Chinese concerns.
China’s UN Ambassador Liu Jieyi cut short a visit with other council envoys to the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa to return to New York and take part in negotiations on the draft text.
Britain yesterday backed the measures, saying the sanctions resolution was a proportionate response to North Korea’s illegal and reckless behavior.
