The United States has drafted a resolution to be voted on at the United Nations Security Council on Saturday which aim to cut off about a third of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's export revenue.
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The resolution would ban exports from the DPRK of coal, iron, iron ore, lead, lead ore, and even seafood, striking a major blow to the small country's economy. It would prohibit countries around the world from hiring increased numbers of North Korean labor abroad, and ban all new jount ventures or investment between the DPRK and other countries.
In spite of the potentially devastating effect sanctions of this nature could have on the DPRK's economy, a Security Council diplomat speaking anonymously to Reuters said “these sanctions are not targeted at the people of North Korea.”
The diplomat said that the sanctions are meant to target the “critical source of hard currency” that the DPRK uses for what he called its “fantastically expensive war machine and these just amazingly expensive ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programs.”
The resolution also expands the U.N. blacklist by nine individuals and four entities. The DPRK's principle foreign exchange bank would have its assets frozen and members subjected to a travel ban.
The United States has placed increasing pressure on China over the rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula, with U.S. President Donald Trump frequently expressing his frustration that China has not “done more” to target the DPRK. Some in the Trump administration have threatened China with sanctions if they do not cooperate with the U.S. agenda on the peninsula.
While China is expected to cooperate with the proposed sanctions and support them, the draft does not mandate a reduction in current levels of Chinese trade and economic relations with the targeted country, a measure which some analysts say might indicate a compromise between China and the U.S
The U.N. diplomat said that the DPRK has been estimated to earn in 2017 $400 million from coal, $251 million from iron and iron ore, $113 million from lead and lead ore and $295 million from seafood.