President
Donald Trump has signed an executive order that gives the US broad
new powers to sanction individuals, companies and financial
institutions that facilitate trade with North Korea.
"I
am announcing a new executive order to sign that significantly
expands authorities to target individuals, companies, financial
institutions that finance and facilitate trade with North
Korea,” Trump
said.
"Our
new executive order will cut off sources of revenue that fund North
Korea's efforts to develop the deadliest weapons known to
humankind," he
told reporters.
The
announcement by Trump was made ahead of a luncheon meeting with the
leaders of Japan and South Korea on the UN sidelines.
Trump also
said that China's Central Bank had ordered other Chinese banks to
stop doing business with North Korea.
He
said North Korea's textiles, fishing, information technology and
manufacturing industries were among possible targets.
Trump
said the measure would also disrupt other trade avenues for North
Korea, the idea being to halt its nuclear weapons program. The
president said "tolerance
for this disgraceful practice must end now."
During
the announcement on Thursday, Trump was asked by reporters if
dialogue was still possible with Pyongyang, and he replied"Why
not?"
The
UN Security Council has already passed substantial economic sanctions
against North Korea, including targeting shipments of oil and other
fuel used in missile testing, after Pyongyang reportedly tested a
hydrogen bomb.
Under
the UN resolution passed
on September 11, all oil imports are banned and international assets
of the government and its leaders have been frozen. The resolution
also banned North Korea from importing natural gas liquids and
condensates. It also bans all textile exports and prohibits any
country from authorizing new work permits for North Korean workers –
two key sources of hard currency for the country.
US
Ambassador Nikki Haley said those measures have "strangled
their economic situation" but
that it would "take
a little bit of time" for
the impact to be felt.
Haley
said the Trump administration believes the new sanctions combined
with previous measures would ban over 90 percent of North Korea’s
exports reported in 2016.
Resolution 2371,
passed in August 2017, banned all exports of coal, iron, lead, and
seafood. It also imposed new restrictions on North Korea’s Foreign
Trade Bank and prohibited any increase in the number of North Koreans
working in foreign countries.
If
Washington rips up Iran’s nuclear deal, it will send the wrong
message to North Korea and shake its faith in diplomacy, Russia’s
UN envoy Vassily Nebenzia said at the UN meeting on non-proliferation
of weapons of mass destruction.
"Iran
did find itself linked to DPRK [North Korea] because if the United
States leaves the JCPOA [nuclear deal] this will be the worst signal
we can send to North Korea," Nebenzia said.
He
also called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – the
landmark deal between five permanent UN Security Council members plus
Germany with Iran – a “symbol of the triumph of multi-party
diplomacy.”
Nebenzia
went on stress that the deal serves as an example that even the most
complex international issues can be solved through negotiations,
provided there is enough political will.
He
lamented that “recently, we have seen irresponsible, unilateral
attempts to derail this breakthrough, collective agreement,” while
expressing hope that the “reason prevails” and the JCPOA will
stay intact and be implemented in full.
Responding
to US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s allegations that Russia is
impeding efforts aimed at the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons,
including by “seeking to weaken the International Atomic Energy
Agency’s independence in investigating clandestine nuclear
programs,” Nebenzia said the claims took him aback.
“It
was a surprise today to learn from the Secretary of State that Russia
is undermining the IAEA, this is of course something new to us,” he
said.
Speaking
at the meeting, Tillerson accused Moscow of intention to “weaken
global norms and undercut efforts to hold nations accountable.”
With that he did not specify what nations Moscow allegedly helped.
The
US top diplomat further called on the Russian government to abide by
its commitments on nuclear security and arms control, if “Russia
wants to restore its role as a credible actor in resolving the
situation with North Korea.”
For
his part, Nebenzia pointed out that the situation on the Korean
Peninsula is at risk of spinning out of control at any minute, adding
that diplomatic efforts are needed immediately to stop the crisis.
“It’s
time to start now, without losing any time, not waiting when the
logic of confrontation prevails,” he said. The diplomat argued that
the lack of a common security mechanism in northeastern Asia, the
nuclear program development by Pyongyang, as well as rampant military
activity in the region justified by it, are all to blame in the
current flare-up of tensions.
Meanwhile,
North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, fired back at US President
Donald Trump’s belligerent rhetoric on North Korea. In a speech at
the UN General Assembly earlier this week, Trump threatened to
totally destroy North Korea in case of military confrontation between
the two countries, while labelling Kim a “rocket man… on a
suicide mission.”
Trump’s
warmongering speech only persuaded Kim that he is on the right
course, the North Korean leader was quoted as saying.
“His
[Trump] remarks which described the US option through straightforward
expression of his will have convinced me, rather than frightening or
stopping me, that the path I chose is correct and that it is the one
I have to follow to the last,” Kim said in a statement, distributed
by the country’s state-run KCNA news agency, calling Trump’s
behavior “mentally deranged” and vowing to respond to “the most
ferocious declaration of war in history” with the “highest level
of hardline countermeasure in history.”
Russian
Minister Of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov Speech To UN
Russia
rebukes Trump, says to ‘defend’ Iran nuclear deal
Trump
Speech won't solve Korea Crisis! Lavrov Explains
NEWS
CONFERENCE with Ambassador Nikki Haley on NORTH KOREA/IRAN 9/21/17
BEIJING/HONG
KONG (Reuters) - China’s central bank has told banks to strictly
implement United Nations sanctions against North Korea, four sources
told Reuters, amid U.S. concerns that Beijing has not been tough
enough over Pyongyang’s repeated nuclear tests.
Tensions
between the United States and North Korea have ratcheted up after the
sixth and most powerful nuclear test conducted by Pyongyang on Sept.
3 prompted the United Nations Security Council to impose further
sanctions last week.
Chinese
banks have come under scrutiny for their role as a conduit for funds
flowing to and from China’s increasingly isolated neighbor.
The
sources said banks were told to stop providing financial services to
new North Korean customers and to wind down loans with existing
customers, following tighter sanctions against Pyongyang by the
United Nations.
The
sources said lenders were asked to fully implement United Nations
sanctions against North Korea and were warned of the economic losses
and reputational risks if they did not do so.
Chinese
banks received the document on Monday, the sources said.
China’s
central bank did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“At
present, management of North Korea-related business has become an
issue of national-level politics and national security,” according
to the document seen by the sources.
The
document directed banks to explain to any North Korean customers that
“our bank is fulfilling our international obligations and
implementing United Nations sanctions against North Korea. As such,
we refuse to handle any individual loans connected to North Korea.”
The
document did not specify whether existing North Korean account
holders could still deposit or remove money from their accounts.
U.S.
President Donald Trump ordered new sanctions on Thursday that open
the door wider to blacklisting people and entities doing business
with North Korea, including its shipping and trade networks, further
tightening the screws on Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile program.
Trump
stopped short of going after North Korea’s biggest trading partner,
China, and praised its central bank for ordering Chinese banks to
stop doing business with North Korea.
Frustrated
that China had not done more to rein in North Korea, the Trump
administration considered new sanctions in July on small Chinese
banks and other firms doing business with Pyongyang, two senior U.S.
officials told Reuters.
China’s
Big Four state-owned banks have stopped providing financial services
to new North Korean clients, Reuters reported last week, with some
measures beginning as early as the end of last year.
The
commitments made by governments on climate change will lead to
dangerous levels of global warming because they are incommensurate
with the growth of greenhouse gas emissions, according to a new
report.
The
United Nations Environment Programme (Unep) said that pledges put
forward to cut emissions would see temperatures rise by 3C above
pre-industrial levels, far above the the 2C of the Paris climate
agreement, which comes into force on Friday.
At
least a quarter must be cut from emissions by the end of the next
decade, compared with current trends, the UN said.
The
report found that emissions by 2030 were likely to reach about 54 to
56 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent a year, a long way astray
of the 42 gigatonnes a year likely to be the level at which warming
exceeds 2C.
Erik
Solheim, chief of Unep, said the world was “moving in the right
direction” on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and tackling
climate change, but that measures should be taken urgently to avoid
the need for much more drastic cuts in emissions in future. “If we
don’t start taking additional action now, we will grieve over the
avoidable human tragedy.”
He
warned in particular that people would start being displaced from
their homes by the effects of climate change, suffering from drought,
hunger, disease and conflicts arising from these afflictions. Mass
migration as a result of climate change is hard to separate from
other causes of migration, but is predicted to become a much greater
problem.
This
year is “locked in” to be the hottest on record, according to
Nasa, eclipsing last year’s record heat, and may show the way to
future temperature rises and their accompanying problems.
Under
the Paris agreement, reached last December, all of the world’s
functioning governments have agreed to reduce greenhouse gases in
line with the need to hold warming to no more than 2C, which
scientists consider the limit of safety. That agreement has been
ratified by the US, China and the European Union, and several other
governments.
However,
while all of the governments involved in the Paris accord have agreed
their own domestic targets for curbing greenhouse gases, these are
not legally binding. In addition, few countries have set out concrete
plans for how they would implement the curbs.
Next
week, signatories to the Paris agreement will gather in Marrakesh to
flesh out some aspects of the pact reached last year. Supporters hope
that some countries may come up with fuller plans for how they mean
to achieve the necessary future emissions reductions, and countries
that have not yet ratified the agreement will be persuaded to do so.
None
are expected to announce new targets on emissions in line with the
reductions that the Unep report suggests are necessary. Nations
currently have domestic targets on curbing or cutting emissions by
2020, set out in 2009 at the UN meeting in Copenhagen, as well as
their Paris commitments which apply from 2025 to 2030.
Asad
Rehman, Friends of the Earth’s international climate campaigner,
said: “This is a stark warning that cannot be ignored – tougher
action on climate change is urgently needed to prevent the world
speeding towards catastrophe. Governments are drinking in the ‘last
chance saloon’ if the lofty goals of the Paris climate agreement
are to be met.”
Richard
Black, director of the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit
thinktank, said: “Unep’s report confirms that there has been
remarkable acceleration towards a global low-carbon economy over the
past year, but considerably more action is required if governments
are to meet the target they set under the Paris agreement.”
Another
significant climate agreement was signed in the last few weeks. Under
the Montreal Protocol of 1987, countries agreed to phase out gases
known to be harmful to the ozone layer. Some of the substitutes,
however, turned out to be much more potent than carbon dioxide in
warming the planet.
Under
a new addition to that agreement countries around the world have
agreed to remove the harmful HFCs used in some air-conditioning and
refrigeration systems. If fully implemented, this could result in a
0.5C reduction in future warming. Given the goal set in Paris for
limiting global temperature rises to 2C, this would make a
significant difference to the world’s actions on climate change if
it is fully endorsed. Phasing out the relevant chemicals may take
much of the rest of the decade, however, and could face resistance in
some industries.
Solheim
urged countries to embark on more ambitious programmes to improve
energy efficiency, increase the amount of energy coming from
renewable sources, and look to meet the national targets they set in
Paris.
WikiLeaks
founder Julian Assange has hailed as “a victory that cannot be
denied” a favorable UN panel ruling on his detention, saying that
the UK and Sweden have lost at the highest level. The comments came
as he appeared on the balcony of the Ecuadorian embassy in London.
“How sweet it is!” Assange proclaimed as he stood before the cheering crowd with a copy of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) decision in his hands.
He said the ruling was “historical” not only for him and his family, but also “for the independence of the UN system.”
“This is a decision under international humanitarian law fighting the UK, Sweden, and the US for the most part,” he said.
The
WikiLeaks founder noted the UN had stressed that the panel’s
decision was “legally
binding,”
which means attempts to deny the ruling by UK Foreign Secretary
Philip Hammond were just “words.”
“The
UK and Sweden lost at the highest level,”
Assange said, adding that both countries didn’t use their chance to
appeal the UN ruling because they knew that they had no chance of
success.
Assange
warned that if his “illegal,
immoral detention”
continues despite the decision, those responsible for it in the UK
and Sweden will face criminal charges.
After
exposing corruption at the highest international level for 20 years,
Assange said that he expected persecution.
“But
what right does the US, UK, Sweden have to deny my children their
father for five-and-half-years without charge… Today they have
their father back,”
he said.
He
also read extracts from the UN panel’s ruling on his case, which
said that “The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) …
considered that Mr Julian Assange was arbitrarily detained by the
governments of Sweden and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland.”
The
group said that Assange “is
entitled to his freedom of movement and to compensation.”
Assange
concluded his speech by thanking everybody at the UN, the people and
the government of Ecuador, all his supporters worldwide as well as
the “good people” in the governments of the UK, Sweden and the
US.
The
whistleblower has been holed up for over three years at the
Ecuadorian embassy in London after being granted asylum by the
country in order to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he faces
sexual assault пallegations.
Assange
filed a complaint against Sweden and Britain to the UN Working Group
on Arbitrary Detention in September 2014 after exhausting all other
legal options in the fight to regain freedom.
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Anastasia Churkina
