U.S., China in deal on N. Korea sanctions

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NEW YORK, March 5 (UPI) -- The United States and China have a deal for new sanctions on North Korea, paving the way for a new U.N. resolution, U.N. diplomats told The Wall Street Journal.

Under the deal, the new resolution to be introduced Tuesday in the U.N. Security Council would include both the existing as well as new ones against North Korea over its Feb. 12 nuclear test, which was the isolated Communist country's third such test since 2006.

A U.N. diplomat told the Journal China, North Korea's closest ally, has already voted for three sets of sanctions against its neighbor for its previous nuclear tests and ballistic missile launches in violation of Security Council resolutions.

"There is a meeting tomorrow and we will look at a text that the U.S. and China will present together," a Security Council diplomat told the Journal. "They have reached a deal."

The existing sanctions against North Korea were tightened in January after Pyongyang conducted its December long-range rocket launch, seen by the international community as a cover to test its long-range ballistic missile capability.

Under the new deal, a diplomat told the Journal the Security Council should adopt the new sanctions by the end of the week.

Currently, North Korea is banned from conducting all ballistic missile and nuclear tests and import and export of nuclear and ballistic missile-related material. The council also imposed an embargo on all arms imports and exports other than small arms as well as financial and travel sanctions on a number of individuals and North Korean companies.

The Security Council also has put in place a regime requiring all nations to inspect goods entering and leaving North Korean ports for contraband.

The Journal quoted diplomats that China would not agree to an oil embargo because of concerns about the North Korean economy collapsing which in turn would lead the massive inflow of refugees into China.

The Journal said it wasn't clear what the new sanctions would be besides adding new companies and individuals to the financial and travel-ban list.