[h=3]By JOE LAURIA[/h] NEW YORK—The U.S. and China have reached a deal on a new set of sanctions against North Korea in response to its test of a nuclear weapon last month, United Nations diplomats said.
The resolution, which will enforce some existing sanctions and include new ones, will be introduced at a U.N. Security Council meeting on Tuesday, a diplomat said. China has already voted for three sets of sanctions against its reclusive neighbor for its past nuclear tests and ballistic missile launches, both banned by the Security Council.
"There is a meeting tomorrow and we will look at a text that the U.S. and China will present together," a Security Council diplomat said. "They have reached a deal."
The council, with Chinese support, tightened existing measures against the North in January in response to its December ballistic missile test. At the time it threatened "significant action" in the event of a nuclear test, which took place on Feb. 12. A diplomat said the council should adopt the new sanctions by the end of the week.
The existing measures include a ban on all ballistic missile and nuclear tests and sanctions on the import and export of nuclear and ballistic missile-related material. The council also imposed an embargo on all arms imports and exports with the exception of small arms as well as financial and travel sanctions on a number of individuals and North Korean companies.
Imports of luxury items, reportedly enjoyed by North Korea's top leaders, are prohibited.
The council has in addition set up a regime which calls on nations to inspect goods entering and leaving North Korean ports for contraband.
Diplomats have said Beijing wouldn't agree to an oil embargo for fear that a collapse in the North Korean economy could send waves of refugees into China. It wasn't clear what the new measures would include, beyond adding new companies and individuals to the financial and travel-ban list.
The resolution, which will enforce some existing sanctions and include new ones, will be introduced at a U.N. Security Council meeting on Tuesday, a diplomat said. China has already voted for three sets of sanctions against its reclusive neighbor for its past nuclear tests and ballistic missile launches, both banned by the Security Council.
"There is a meeting tomorrow and we will look at a text that the U.S. and China will present together," a Security Council diplomat said. "They have reached a deal."
The council, with Chinese support, tightened existing measures against the North in January in response to its December ballistic missile test. At the time it threatened "significant action" in the event of a nuclear test, which took place on Feb. 12. A diplomat said the council should adopt the new sanctions by the end of the week.
The existing measures include a ban on all ballistic missile and nuclear tests and sanctions on the import and export of nuclear and ballistic missile-related material. The council also imposed an embargo on all arms imports and exports with the exception of small arms as well as financial and travel sanctions on a number of individuals and North Korean companies.
Imports of luxury items, reportedly enjoyed by North Korea's top leaders, are prohibited.
The council has in addition set up a regime which calls on nations to inspect goods entering and leaving North Korean ports for contraband.
Diplomats have said Beijing wouldn't agree to an oil embargo for fear that a collapse in the North Korean economy could send waves of refugees into China. It wasn't clear what the new measures would include, beyond adding new companies and individuals to the financial and travel-ban list.