UN Security Council's Additional Sanctions on North Korea 'Fail'... China Requests Hold

[Asia Economy New York=Special Correspondent Joselgina] The United States' attempt to expand sanctions against North Korea at the United Nations (UN) Security Council level has been blocked by China.

According to AFP and other sources on the 20th (local time), China expressed a 'hold' position on the US proposal to add North Korean missile development personnel to the Security Council sanctions list ahead of a closed-door Security Council meeting.

Earlier, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US Ambassador to the UN, requested additional sanctions to designate five North Koreans affiliated with the North Korean Academy of Defense Science (Second Academy of Natural Sciences), who were independently sanctioned by the US Treasury Department on the 12th, as Security Council sanctions targets as well.

Originally, this proposal was scheduled to be automatically confirmed by 3 p.m. that day if there was no opposition from the 15 Security Council member states. However, diplomatic sources reported that China requested a hold, stating that more time was needed for review. The Security Council's North Korea Sanctions Committee makes decisions by consensus among the five permanent members and ten non-permanent members.