The United States has called for a vote on Thursday on a U.N. resolution that would impose tougher sanctions on North Korea for its recent launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles that can be used to deliver nuclear weapons.
The U.S. has been working on a draft Security Council resolution for several months and put it in a final form on Wednesday afternoon for a vote. But the measure faces opposition from North Korea's neighbors China and Russia, which have said they want to see new talks and not more punishment for the North.
“We don’t think a resolution as proposed by the U.S. can solve any problem,” China’s U.N. Mission said in a statement Wednesday evening.
The announcement of the vote and the U.S. release of the 14-page draft resolution came hours after South Korea reported that North Korea test-launched a suspected intercontinental ballistic missile and two shorter-range missiles. It also followed Tuesday’s conclusion of U.S. President Joe Biden’s Asia trip that included stops in South Korea and Japan, where he reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to defend both allies in the face of the North’s nuclear threat, the Associated Press reported.