A group of U.S. senators sent a letter to President Obama Friday calling on the administration to expand sanctions against North Korea and punish Chinese entities aiding the North. A Senate resolution condemning North Korea was introduced the same day.
Nineteen Republican senators led by Republican Sen. Cory Gardner, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific, and International Cybersecurity, wrote a letter urging President Barack Obama to take greater action to mitigate the growing North Korean nuclear threat.
The senators called for tougher sanctions against North Korea, the blacklisting of any and all entities which undermine sanctions, and an earlier deployment schedule for the planned Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile shield.
Pyongyang conducted its fifth and most powerful nuclear test on Sept. 9, sparking international outrage.
“In the wake of this latest provocation from Pyongyang, we ask you to take immediate steps to expand U.S. sanctions against North Korea and those entities that assist the regime, most importantly China-based entities,” the senators write in the letter. The letter also encouraged the Obama administration to “close loopholes of previous resolutions, which have allowed China to skirt faithful compliance.”
The letter said that the present administration should use all options provided under the North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act of 2016, which went into effect in March after North Korea’s fourth nuclear test in January and its long-range rocket launch in February, to eliminate key threats to the U.S. and its allies.
The senators said that Obama must deal with China, “the country with which North Korea currently conducts an estimated 90% of its trade and that has historically served as Pyongyang’s largest military and diplomatic protector.”
The letter also requested the strengthening of trilateral ties between the U.S., South Korea, and Japan.
“Mr. President, we must send a strong message to Beijing that our patience has run out and exert any and all effort with Beijing to use its critical leverage to stop Beijing,” the senators concluded.
Democratic Sen. Benjamin Cardin presented a resolution (S. Res. 564) Friday condemning North Korea’s latest nuclear test and introducing firmer sanctions.
“The Senate condemns the North Korean regime for continuing its dangerous nuclear and missile capabilities while violating the human rights of its people,” the resolution stated.
The resolution called for North Korea to end its nuclear program and for China to utilize its leverage over North Korea and aggressively enforce United Nations Security Council (UNSC) sanctions.
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