China, Russia veto US-led push for tougher sanctions on North Korea

China and Russia on Thursday vetoed tougher United Nations sanctions against North Korea, rejecting a US effort to punish Pyongyang for testing an intercontinental ballistic missile. The resolution enjoyed the support of the 13 other members of the Security Council. the remaining members voted in favor of the U.S. drafted resolution that proposed banning tobacco and oil exports to North Korea. The vote came a day after North Korea fired three missiles, including one thought to be its largest inter-continental ballistic missile, following US President Joe Biden's trip to Asia.

Citing the council's silence on North Korea, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said, it is time to stop providing tacit permission and to start taking action. However, Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said that he did not believe UN action would be very conducive to engagement with North Korea. China has also been urging the United States to take action to entice Pyongyang to resume talks that have been stalled since 2019. Over the past 16 years, the Security Council has steadily and unanimously, stepped up sanctions to cut off funding for Pyongyang's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmed. It last tightened sanctions on Pyongyang in 2017.

the United Nation “should not replace one-sided emphasis on the implementation of sanctions alone. It should also work to promote the political solution,” said China’s ambassador to the United Nations, Zhang Jun. He warned that sanctions would have humanitarian consequences for North Korea, which is suffering from Covi outbreak in one of the most closed societies. Additional sanctions “will not only not help solve the problem but will lead to more negative effects and an escalation of confrontation,” he said..