UN Security Council passes watered-down North Korea sanctions
The UN Security Council voted unanimously on Monday to impose new sanctions on North Korea, after the United States backed down on harder penalties to win the Russian and Chinese votes. The new sanctions set a cap on crude and refined oil exports to North Korea at 8.5m barrels per year, another cap of 2m barrels on petroleum sales and prohibited sales of natural gas, as well prohibiting member naions from employing North Korean labor, which brings Pyongyang half a billion dollars a year. But the SC did not vote on US demands for an asset freeze and global travel for Kim Jong-un.