North Korea sanctions ‘nothing compared to what will have to happen’: Trump: focus on North Korea

The short item below from Russian Vesti News is worth a whole year’s commentary from any of the western ‘pundits’.

It features interviews with people who were in North Korea during the Soviet period and who know the country well.

Korea is a country that is united,most of all around the idea that all foreigners are enemies and will never give in to any form of pressure.

Why the North Koreans Aren’t Afraid of Either Sanctions or Nuclear War

This commentary from Dmitry Kisilev makes the points that it is the generals who are in charge of U.S. foreign policy (not exactly a Junta but almost). This features the words of Vladimir Putin who appears to me, along with the Chinese leadership, to be the only adult in the room.

Generals Rule US Foreign Policy

Let's go back to what was only briefly mentioned earlier— the crisis surrounding North Korea. And, to the sensational words of Putin: “North Koreans will eat grass, but they won’t give up nuclear weapons."However, this is nothing they should be praised for. So, what would a unified and firm response to Pyongyang be?

This interview of Dmitry Babich of Sputnik News with CPR’s Don DeBar was made before the UN vote yesterday.

Here is another Russian voice

What Is Going On Around North Korea? - Valeriy Pyakin

Here is commentary by Patrick Henningsen on RT

Henningsen: US on the Wrong Side of History in North Korea

21^st Century Wire,

12 September, 2017

The North Korean crisis took another turn this week. Yesterday, the UN Security Council passed a new round of sanctions against North Korea, following their recent alleged hydrogen bomb test.

According to the UN’s High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Izumi Nakamitsu, North Korea does not want to start a nuclear war, and the US is not seeking regime change in Pyongyang.

“I don’t think DPRK wants to start a nuclear war,” said Nakamitsu in Geneva on Tuesday.

She added: “Maybe I‘m missing something but as far as I hear, no one is really asking for any collapse of DPRK, quite the contrary. No one is talking about regime change, quite the contrary.”

While this may not be true in literal terms, US officials have made a series of counterproductive nuclear threats to North Korea. While Defense Secretary James Mattis raised the prospects of the US deploying nuclear warheads in South Korea, Senator John McCain threatened North Korea with “extinction” if they did not stop ‘their aggression’.

“In other words, make sure that Kim Jong Un knows that if he acts in an aggressive fashion, the price will be extinction,” said McCain to CNN’s Jake Tapper.

21WIRE editor Patrick Henningsen explains the fundamental flaw in Washington’s calculus and what needs to happen for negotiations to bear real fruit for peace in the region. Watch:

Finally, here are today’s headlines.

The U.S is threatening to remove China from the U.S dollar after moves by China, Russia and others to remove THEMSELVES from the U.S dollar.

What a joke! Looks as if America has run out of options except for the military one.

North Korea sanctions ‘nothing compared to what will have to happen’: Trump

UN pressures DPRK by banning its textile exports, DPRK promises "pain and suffering" in return

September 12th, 2017 - Fort Russ News -

- Al Mayadeen - - translated by Samer Hussein -

Fort Russ,

12 September, 2017

North Korea has blasted the UN Security Council resolution on imposing tougher sanctions on the country, saying the United States would soon feel the “most terrible pain ever.” 

“The regime in Washington is obviously excited about a political, economic and military confrontation and is obsessed with a vicious game of holding back the progress made by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in developing its nuclear program, even though the latter has already reached the stage of completion”, North Korean ambassador Han Tae Song told the U.N.-sponsored Conference on Disarmament in Geneva on Tuesday. 

“I hope the North Korean regime will listen to the message and choose a different route”, said Robert Woods, the US ambassador for disarmament at the forum in Geneva on Tuesday.

On Monday, the United Nations Security Council unanimously voted to adopt the US draft resolution on adding more sanctions against North Korea because of its nuclear program. 

The sanctions include a ban on North Korea’s textile exports, a cap on the export of crude oil and refined petroleum products to the country and an embargo on natural gas liquids and condensates.

This was the ninth sanctions resolution unanimously adopted by the 15-member council since 2006 due to North Korea's ballistic missile and nuclear programmes. 

The US Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, said that the United States is not seeking a war with North Korea, noting that Pyongyang has not yet reached the “point of no return.”

“Today's decision would not have been made if it wasn’t for the strong relationship that developed between the US President Donald Trump and the Chinese President Xi Jinping”, the US Permanent Representative to the United Nations said.

North Korea has vowed “pain and suffering” and “firm response” while condemning the UNSC decision, for which it said had brought things to a “completely reckless stage.” 

Pyongyang’s nuclear program aims to ‘deter hostile US policy’ – N. Korea ambassador to Russia

No sanctions will make North Korea change its policies, says the country’s ambassador to Moscow. The diplomat added that North Korea’s nuclear program will help his country better deter the “hostile policy of the US”.

US threatens to ‘cut China off’ from dollar if it does not uphold sanctions against N. Korea

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin. © Yuri Gripas / Reuters

RT,

13 September, 2017

The US could impose economic sanctions on China if it does not implement the new sanctions regime against North Korea, the US Treasury Secretary has warned. Steven Mnuchin said the restrictions could involve cutting off Beijing’s access to the US financial system.

“North Korea economic warfare works,” Mnuchin said Tuesday at the Delivering Alpha Conference in New York City. “We sent a message that anybody who wanted to trade with North Korea – we would consider them not trading with us.”

The Treasury Secretary echoed the words of the US envoy to the UN, Nikki Haley, by calling the fresh round of sanctions against Pyongyang “historic.” Mnuchin added “if China doesn’t follow these sanctions, we will put additional sanctions on them and prevent them from accessing the US and international dollar system.”

Washington has, so far, been reluctant to impose economic sanctions on China over concerns of possible retaliatory measures from Beijing and the potentially catastrophic consequences for the global economy.

Washington runs a $350 billion annual trade deficit with Beijing. China also holds $1 trillion in US debt, which amounts to 28 percent of US Treasury bills, notes and bonds held by a foreign government.

US lawmakers, however, seemed to be more inclined to exert pressure on Beijing and other countries striking deals with Pyongyang as they demand a “supercharged” response to North Korea’s nuclear tests, including imposing sanctions on companies from China and any other country doing business in North Korea.

“I believe the response from the United States and our allies should be supercharged,” said Ed Royce, chairman of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee during a hearing Tuesday.

“We need to use every ounce of leverage... to put maximum pressure on this rogue regime,” he said, adding that “time is running out.” Royce also called on Washington to target major Chinese banks, including the Agricultural Bank of China and the China Merchants Bank for dealing with Pyongyang.

He also said China was apparently reluctant to follow through on the sanctions adopted by the UN Security Council (UNSC) against the North. “It’s been a long, long time of waiting for China to comply with the sanctions that we pass and, frankly, with the sanctions that the United Nations passed,” he said.

The committee chair went on to say the US could give Chinese banks and companies “a choice between doing business with North Korea or the United States.” He added that the US should also “go after banks and companies in other countries that do business with North Korea the same way.”

Committee members also expressed unease over the fact that the sanctions imposed on North Korea have so far been ineffective in preventing Pyongyang from developing its nuclear and missile programs.

“We’ve been played by the Kims for years,” Republican Representative Ted Poe said, referring to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his predecessors, as reported by Reuters.

President Donald Trump also downplayed the role of the newly adopted sanctions later Tuesday. ”We think it’s just another very small step, not a big deal. I don’t know if it has any impact,” he told reporters at the start of a meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.

Trump also said he already discussed the issue with his State Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. He ominously added that “those sanctions are nothing compared to what ultimately will have to happen” without specifying what he meant by that.

The UNSC unanimously approved a new resolution on sanctions against Pyongyang on September 11. Following a series of behind-the-scenes negotiations Sunday, diplomats agreed not to ban oil exports into North Korea. Instead, the ninth set of restrictive sanctions against Pyongyang authorized an annual cap of 2 million barrels of refined petroleum products to North Korea.

It also banned the North’s textile exports – the second-biggest export for the country, which totals $752 million – according to data from the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency. Chinese and Russian negotiators managed to persuade the US delegation nt to impose a travel ban or asset freeze on North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un.

On Tuesday, the North Korean ambassador to Moscow said sanctions will not make his country change its policies. Pyongyang’s nuclear program helps it to deter the “hostile policy of the US,” Kim Yong-jae added.