New DPRK sanctions can push parties toward talks

Precisely 11 weeks have passed since Pyongyang carried out its fifth and largest nuclear test. And it remains an open question whether the UN Security Council can put the draft of a new resolution to the vote next week.

China and the United States seem to have agreed to impose broader sanctions against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, and Beijing is reportedly to talk with Moscow to encourage it to come on board.

While strictly enforced broader sanctions are to be welcome if they manage to persuade Pyongyang that nuclear weapons are not the way to ease its security concerns, it should be borne in mind that the UN Security Council has issued a number of resolutions that have denounced the DPRK's nuclear tests and missile launches and imposed sanctions on it. However, instead of subduing Pyongyang, they have ended up making it even more defiant and provocative.