Sanctions needed but are not the key to peace on peninsula

The United Nations Security Council's unanimous decision on Monday to impose a new round of, and tougher, sanctions on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea reflects the international community's unswerving resolve to rein in Pyongyang's nuclear and missile program, and protect the nuclear non-proliferation regime.

By cutting the DPRK's overall oil supply by about 30 percent, banning all textile exports and prohibiting all countries from authorizing new work permits for the country's workers, the sanctions will certainly deal a blow to two key sources of finance for Pyongyang and may somewhat jolt its nuclear and missile program. But whether or not they will make the DPRK abandon its nuclear program is open to question.

That before the UN vote the DPRK declared the United States would face "pain and suffering", as it would retaliate if any new sanctions were imposed should reflect the Pyongyang's determination to press ahead with its ambitious and contentious nuclear program despite intense international pressure. Perhaps this is where the UN resolution, if taken in its entirety, can help, for it also calls for seeking a peaceful resolution to the Korean Peninsula issue through diplomatic and political means, taking measures to defuse tensions on the peninsula and making efforts to resume the Six-Party Talks.