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Gist of new UN sanctions resolution on N. Korea

March 3, 2016
(Yonhap)

(Yonhap)

NEW YORK (Yonhap) — The following is the gist of U.N. Security Council Resolution 2270 adopted Wednesday in response to North Korea’s nuclear and missile tests.

General

- Condemns the DPRK’s Jan. 6 nuclear test and Feb. 7 launch

- Reaffirms the DPRK’s obligations not to conduct any further launches using ballistic missile technology or nuclear tests, and abandon all nuclear weapons, suspend all activities related to its ballistic missile program, and abandon all other WMD programs

- Clarifies a ban on technical cooperation with the DPRK on launches using ballistic missile technology, even if characterized as a satellite or space launch

Measures to constrain conventional arms capabilities

- Tightens the arms embargo to prohibit the transfer of small arms and light weapons to the DPRK

- Closes a loophole that could have allowed the temporary transfer of arms for “repair”;

- Creates a new conventional arms “catch-all” provision to ban the transfer of any item — even if not covered by the arms embargo — except food or medicine that could directly contribute to the operational capabilities of the DPRK’s armed forces or the transfer by the DPRK of any item that directly contributes to operational capabilities of the armed forces of another member state outside the DPRK;

- Clarifies that existing UN Security Council resolutions ban hosting of DPRK trainers or advisers, or other officials for military, paramilitary, or police training;

Efforts to curb proliferation networks

- Requires states to expel DPRK diplomats engaged in activities prohibited by UN Security Council resolutions

- Requires states to expel foreign nationals involved in DPRK-related, UN-prohibited activities

- Requires states to close offices of designated entities and expel their representatives

- Highlights for states the risk of DPRK front companies

New cargo inspection and maritime procedures

- Requires states to inspect cargo to/from the DPRK or brokered by the DPRK that is within or transiting their territories (i.e., a mandatory cargo inspection regime);

- Requires states to ban DPRK chartering of vessels or aircraft (with an exemption if states notify the DPRK Sanctions Committee in advance that such activities are exclusively for livelihood purposes that will not generate revenue for DPRK individuals or entities);

- Requires states to prohibit their nationals from operating DPRK vessels or using DPRK flags (with an exemption if states notify the DPRK Sanctions Committee in advance that such activities are for exclusively for livelihood purposes that will not generate revenue for DPRK individuals or entities);

- Bans flights of any plane suspected of carrying prohibited items;

- Prohibits port calls by any vessel controlled by a designated entity or suspected of engaging in activity prohibited by UN Security Council resolutions on the DPRK;

Sectoral sanctions targeting the DPRK’s trade in resources

- Bans exports from the DPRK of coal, iron, and iron ore, unless such transactions are determined to be exclusively for livelihood purposes and unrelated to generating revenue for the DPRK’s nuclear/missile programs or other activities that constitute UN Security Council resolution violations

- Bans exports from the DPRK of gold, titanium ore, vanadium ore, and rare earth minerals

- Bans transfers of aviation fuel, including rocket fuel, to the DPRK

New financial sanctions targeting DPRK banks and assets

- Requires states to freeze the assets of entities of the government of the DPRK or Worker’s Party of Korea determined to be associated with the DPRK’s nuclear or missile programs or other activities that constitute violations of UN Security Council resolutions;

- Requires states to prohibit DPRK banks from opening branches in their territory or engaging in certain correspondent relationships with these banks;

- Requires states to prohibit their financial institutions from opening new representative offices or subsidiaries, branches, or banking accounts in the DPRK;

- Requires states to close existing representative offices or subsidiaries, branches, or banking accounts in the DPRK if reasonable grounds exist to believe such financial services could contribute to the DPRK’s nuclear or missile programs or UNSCR violations;

- Prohibits all public or private financial support for trade with the DPRK, including export credits, guarantees, and insurance, if such support could contribute reasonable grounds to believe there is a link to the DPRK’s nuclear or ballistic missile programs or other activities that constitute UNSCR violations;

- Highlights the risk that the DPRK can use gold to evade sanctions;

- Urges states to apply Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recommendations to effectively implement targeted financial sanctions related to proliferation

Annexes

- Identifies 16 individuals designated for targeted sanctions (asset freeze/travel ban)

- Identifies 12 entities (including government agencies and banks) designated for an asset freeze

- Specifies 31 vessels controlled by UN-designated Ocean Maritime Management (i.e., vessels that must be impounded)

- Provides four illustrative categories of luxury goods for the purposes of implementing the UNSCR 1718 luxury goods ban

Others

- Bans specialized teaching or training for DPRK nationals in fields such as advanced physics, aerospace engineering, and advanced computer simulation, that could contribute to the DPRK’s proliferation-sensitive activities

- Obligates the DPRK to act in accordance with its obligations as a state party to the Convention on Biological Weapons and calls upon the DPRK to accede to the Chemical Weapons Convention;

- Updates the current list of chemical- and biological-warfare items banned for transfer to/from the DPRK (with annual updates) and calls for the list to be further updated annually

- Directs the Security Council’s DPRK Sanctions Committee to update within 15 days an additional list of prohibited nuclear/missile/chem-bio items banned for transfer to/from the DPRK;

- Prohibits the transfer of dual-use nuclear/missile items through a binding Weapons of Mass Destruction “catch-all” provision and updates previous “seize and dispose” obligations

- Provides an illustrative list of specific luxury goods that are banned for transfer to the DPRK.

- Provides new sanctions implementation tools, including new requirements for the DPRK Sanctions Committee to improve enforcement, such as regularly updating the names of front companies and aliases on the committee’s sanctions list

- Reiterates the importance of peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia; reaffirms support to the six-party talks and calls for their resumption; and reiterates support for the 2005 Joint-Statement commitments

- Expresses the council’s determination to take further significant measures in the event of further DPRK nuclear tests or launches.