The US struck a compromise with China and Russia over the weekend on a statement condemning North Korea’s April 5 rocket launch and enforcing United Nations sanctions against North Korea, the Wall Street Journal reported. The draft statement, calls North Korea’s rocket launch a “contravention” of the UN ban on Pyongyang’s ballistic missile program and calls for a list of so-called “entities” that could have their assets frozen due to ties with the missile program. The five permanent members of the UN Security Council have been divided over how to respond to the missile launch, which North Korea claims was an attempt to put a satellite into orbit. The US and Japan wanted swift action that would have imposed new sanctions on North Korea. China and Russia feared driving North Korea away from the six-party talks aimed at ending the country’s nuclear program.
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