The Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, reported on June 13, 2017 at a Senate Foreign Relations committee that the United States would be focusing all of its time and efforts into shutting down North Korea’s access to crude oil. Tillerson stated that Washington will now be seeking support from other countries.
In an attempt to put an end to North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs, the State Department plans to impose sanctions on any country who make transactions with Pyongyang. According to Tillerson, these are known as “secondary sanctions”, which could mean that Russia is a potential target. As reported a Russian media report, exports from Russia to Korea increased by 149% in the first two months of 2017. At the same time, China banned coat exports to North Korea.
Elaborating further, Tillerson said that the United States is working with China to tackle the North Korean problem and Beijing has “taken steps, visible steps that we can confirm” in addressing the circumstances. It’s important to note that China’s support plays a defining role in the resolution of the North Korean problem. Why? Because China provides 90% of North Korean imports.
Additionally, Tillerson is in the midst of talking to other potential partners from around the globe. As quoted by the media, “There is not a bilateral discussion I have with any government anywhere in the world, whether it’s in Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, or Central and South America that we do not talk about their relationship with North Korea and asking them to examine all of those ties and even when they said ‘Oh we only have 5 million dollars worth of business, I say ‘Make it two,’” said Tillerson.
Currently, North Korea is developing a long-range missile which is capable of reaching the United States. This is a cause for concern seeing as these types of missiles are banned from the UN.
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