Sanctions

North Korea Nuclear Program Likely Undeterred by Sanctions

New international sanctions against North Korea’s economy signaled an emerging consensus between China and the U.S. on the urgency of halting Pyongyang’s advancing nuclear program despite doubts over their efficacy.

The United Nations Security Council sanctions resolution, adopted on Wednesday, aims to cut North Korea’s annual exports by an estimated $800 million—roughly one quarter of its total—by imposing a cap on its coal exports to China.

But months of wrangling over the sanctions yielded an agreement that, on its own, many experts say is unlikely to persuade North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to abandon his pursuit of his country becoming a world-recognized nuclear power.