Rep. Zeldin Statement Re: New UN Sanctions on North Korea

Statement

Congressman Lee Zeldin (R, NY-1) issued the following statement today regarding the unanimous passage of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2371 on Saturday which places new sanctions on North Korea in response to its violations of U.N. resolutions and continued testing of Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM). The sanctions will target many of North Korea's revenue streams and primary exports, such as coal, iron, and seafood, and is expected to reduce the nation's roughly $3 billion total export revenue by more than a third.

"This new sanctions package is a massive development on multiple fronts, especially with the size of the sanctions and the unanimous vote that included China and Russia. Ambassador Nikki Haley has accomplished what many thought was impossible and will result in much needed increased multilateral diplomacy as well as important economic pressure on the North Koreans. The red line isn't North Korea launching a nuclear weapon at the United States. The red line must be that Kim Jong-Un can never even have the capability to deliver a nuclear warhead to the United States. When that capability is imminent, the United States will have no choice but to use that last possible option of conventional and/or unconventional military force. In the meantime, the best possible scenario is to address the need for North Korean denuclearization through the other principles of DIME (Diplomacy, Information, Military, Economics). There are several other dynamics and elements of options to this complex issue, but it cannot be understated how significant the potential is for these new sanctions to apply enormous pressure on Kim Jong-Un to change his behavior. It is in his best interest and his nation's best interest to do so."

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