UN not agreed yet on new NKorea sanctions

The U.N. Security Council committee monitoring sanctions against North Korea is still trying to agree on a list of entities, companies and goods to add to the U.N. sanctions blacklist, U.N. diplomats said Tuesday.        

The council unanimously approved a presidential statement on April 16 strongly condemning North Korea's failed rocket launch on April 13. It gave the sanctions committee 15 days to prepare new additions for the sanctions list, and said if it doesn't the council would take action within five days to expand the list.        

The European Union proposed about 40 additions and the United States, Japan and South Korea also submitted lists  but China, North Korea's closest ally, did not responded by Tuesday's deadline, the diplomats said, speaking on condition of anonymity because talks have been private.         

The diplomats said council members were willing to give Beijing a few more days to respond so the committee can reach agreement on a list without going to the Security Council. All 15 council nations are also on the sanctions committee, but its deliberations are more informal and closed.        
The Security Council has imposed two rounds of sanctions against North Korea  after its 2006 and 2009 nuclear tests. The current list includes eight entities  six trading companies, a bank and the General Bureau of Atomic Energy  and five individuals.         

U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice said after the April 16 presidential statement was adopted that the additional entities, including companies, would be subject  to an asset freeze. She said the U.S. would propose "a robust package of new designations, including the names of companies responsible for North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programs and a list of technical items that North Korea needs to proceed with its illicit programs."        

Rice said the sanctions committee would also identify additional proliferation-sensitive technology to be banned for transfer to and from North Korea and take several other actions to improve enforcement of existing sanctions.

AP