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In this handout photo released by the South Korean Defense Ministry, South Korean navy vessels taking part in a naval drill off the east coast on September 4, 2017 in East Sea, South Korea. The exercise takes place two days after North Korea's latest nuclear test, which was condemned by world leaders. U.S. Ambassador to U.N. Nikki Haley described Kim Jong-un is 'begging for war' at an emergency security council meeting. (Photo by South Korean Defense Ministry via Getty Images)
The U.S. notified the United Nations Security Council late Friday of its plan to call a vote Monday on an aggressive new Trump administration resolution to impose new sanctions on North Korea.
The UK's Observer is reporting Saturday:
"The most striking language in the draft United Nations resolution seen by the Observer authorizes naval vessels of any UN member state to inspect North Korean ships suspected of carrying banned cargo and to use "all necessary measures to carry out such inspections". The implications of such a resolution would be far-reaching. Any attempt to board or divert a North Korean vessel could trigger an exchange of fire."
The draft resolution would also block the country's exports of textiles and ban employment of its guest workers by other countries, Bloomberg reports. The resolution also seeks to freeze North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's assets, according to the report.
Such a dramatic tightening of the economic vice is likely to meet resistance from China, which is anxious to avoid driving its embattled neighbor to the point of complete collapse; and Russia, which is promoting itself as a broker in the Korean standoff and has suggested that a new set of sanctions is "premature," according to the Observer.
"Up to now, the Chinese and the Russians have tried to keep on giving the US just enough to keep Trump playing the UN game," said Richard Gowan, an expert on the UN at the European Council for Foreign Relations. "The question is what happens with an extraordinarily hardline resolution and US pressure to do something quickly."
Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the UN, requested that the UN Security Council vote on the draft resolution on September 11th. To pass, a UN resolution would need nine votes in favor and no vetoes by any of the 15-member Security Council's permanent members, the United States, Britain, France, Russia, or China.
Professor Francis Boyle, professor of international law at the University of Illinois College of Law, describes blockades under international and US law as: "belligerent measures taken by a nation (to) prevent passage of vessels or aircraft to and from another country. Customary international law recognizes blockades as an act of war because of the belligerent use of force even against third party nations in enforcing the blockade. Blockades as acts of war have been recognized as such in the Declaration of Paris of 1856 and the Declaration of London of 1909 that delineate the international rules of warfare."
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
The U.S. notified the United Nations Security Council late Friday of its plan to call a vote Monday on an aggressive new Trump administration resolution to impose new sanctions on North Korea.
The UK's Observer is reporting Saturday:
"The most striking language in the draft United Nations resolution seen by the Observer authorizes naval vessels of any UN member state to inspect North Korean ships suspected of carrying banned cargo and to use "all necessary measures to carry out such inspections". The implications of such a resolution would be far-reaching. Any attempt to board or divert a North Korean vessel could trigger an exchange of fire."
The draft resolution would also block the country's exports of textiles and ban employment of its guest workers by other countries, Bloomberg reports. The resolution also seeks to freeze North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's assets, according to the report.
Such a dramatic tightening of the economic vice is likely to meet resistance from China, which is anxious to avoid driving its embattled neighbor to the point of complete collapse; and Russia, which is promoting itself as a broker in the Korean standoff and has suggested that a new set of sanctions is "premature," according to the Observer.
"Up to now, the Chinese and the Russians have tried to keep on giving the US just enough to keep Trump playing the UN game," said Richard Gowan, an expert on the UN at the European Council for Foreign Relations. "The question is what happens with an extraordinarily hardline resolution and US pressure to do something quickly."
Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the UN, requested that the UN Security Council vote on the draft resolution on September 11th. To pass, a UN resolution would need nine votes in favor and no vetoes by any of the 15-member Security Council's permanent members, the United States, Britain, France, Russia, or China.
Professor Francis Boyle, professor of international law at the University of Illinois College of Law, describes blockades under international and US law as: "belligerent measures taken by a nation (to) prevent passage of vessels or aircraft to and from another country. Customary international law recognizes blockades as an act of war because of the belligerent use of force even against third party nations in enforcing the blockade. Blockades as acts of war have been recognized as such in the Declaration of Paris of 1856 and the Declaration of London of 1909 that delineate the international rules of warfare."
The U.S. notified the United Nations Security Council late Friday of its plan to call a vote Monday on an aggressive new Trump administration resolution to impose new sanctions on North Korea.
The UK's Observer is reporting Saturday:
"The most striking language in the draft United Nations resolution seen by the Observer authorizes naval vessels of any UN member state to inspect North Korean ships suspected of carrying banned cargo and to use "all necessary measures to carry out such inspections". The implications of such a resolution would be far-reaching. Any attempt to board or divert a North Korean vessel could trigger an exchange of fire."
The draft resolution would also block the country's exports of textiles and ban employment of its guest workers by other countries, Bloomberg reports. The resolution also seeks to freeze North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's assets, according to the report.
Such a dramatic tightening of the economic vice is likely to meet resistance from China, which is anxious to avoid driving its embattled neighbor to the point of complete collapse; and Russia, which is promoting itself as a broker in the Korean standoff and has suggested that a new set of sanctions is "premature," according to the Observer.
"Up to now, the Chinese and the Russians have tried to keep on giving the US just enough to keep Trump playing the UN game," said Richard Gowan, an expert on the UN at the European Council for Foreign Relations. "The question is what happens with an extraordinarily hardline resolution and US pressure to do something quickly."
Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the UN, requested that the UN Security Council vote on the draft resolution on September 11th. To pass, a UN resolution would need nine votes in favor and no vetoes by any of the 15-member Security Council's permanent members, the United States, Britain, France, Russia, or China.
Professor Francis Boyle, professor of international law at the University of Illinois College of Law, describes blockades under international and US law as: "belligerent measures taken by a nation (to) prevent passage of vessels or aircraft to and from another country. Customary international law recognizes blockades as an act of war because of the belligerent use of force even against third party nations in enforcing the blockade. Blockades as acts of war have been recognized as such in the Declaration of Paris of 1856 and the Declaration of London of 1909 that delineate the international rules of warfare."