US pushes UN to strengthen sanctions on North Korea

by Julia Manchester - 08/04/17 3:58 PM ET

The United States is pushing for the United Nations Security Council to strengthen sanctions on North Korea this Saturday as tensions with the country continue to rise, Reuters reported Friday.

According to the report, the U.S. sent a draft copy of the resolution to the 15 members of the Security Council on Friday. Nine members must vote in favor of the resolution for it to pass, and it cannot get any vetoes from U.S., China, Russia, Britain or France, the five permanent members of the Security Council.

The fact that the draft has been sent at all signals an agreement could be reached.

{mosads}News of the push follows North Korea’s two recent tests of intercontinental ballistic missiles, the most recent of which took place last week.

President Trump lashed out at China in response to the new tests, criticizing the country for not doing more to curb North Korea’s nuclear weapons tests.

I am very disappointed in China. Our foolish past leaders have allowed them to make hundreds of billions of dollars a year in trade, yet…

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 29, 2017

…they do NOTHING for us with North Korea, just talk. We will no longer allow this to continue. China could easily solve this problem!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 29, 2017

Beijing responded to the president’s criticism, saying it is important that all parties work together to solve Pyongyang’s nuclear issues.

Trump signed legislation on Wednesday that would target North Korea’s shipping industry while imposing new sanctions on Moscow.

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley also went after China in a tweet earlier this week, saying it was time for the country to act.

Done talking about NKorea.China is aware they must act.Japan & SKorea must inc pressure.Not only a US problem.It will req an intl solution.

— Nikki Haley (@nikkihaley) July 30, 2017

Trump himself has lashed out at China for its role in the North Korean crisis, saying they have done “nothing” to help the U.S. during the crisis.