China and Russia have vetoed an effort to tighten United Nations sanctions on North Korea after a spate of missile launches this year, in the first split among the five veto-wielding permanent members of the UN’s most powerful body since it began sanctioning Pyongyang in 2006.The remaining 13 council members all voted in favour of the resolution that was drafted by the United States and proposed banning tobacco and oil exports to North Korea. It would also have blacklisted the Lazarus hacking group, which the United States says is tied to North Korea.A united Security Council imposed sanctions after North Korea’s first nuclear test explosion in 2006 and tightened them over the years in a total of 10 resolutions seeking – so far unsuccessfully – to rein in its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes and cut off funding. This year alone it has carried out a total of 23 missile launches, three of them in the space of less than an hour on Wednesday morning.
Load More
Load More