A BLUEPRINT FOR NEW SANCTIONS ON NORTH KOREA: From the Center for a New American Security.
Despite the perception that North Korea has long been the most sanctioned country on earth, the reality is that until recently, those sanctions were not very comprehensive. Though the U.N. Security Council had passed four sanctions resolutions between 2005 and 2015, none of them meaningfully tightened the economic screws on North Korea. Without this broad economic force, they lacked the leverage to compel policy change or effective nuclear diplomacy. Instead, they were narrowly targeted at specific individuals and companies involved in North Korea’s nuclear program and served as more of a messaging tool, with relatively limited financial consequences for North Korea and its regime elites.
There is room to increase the economic and political pressure on North Korea’s economy using sanctions and “military leverage”:
Aggressively doing so plus targeting the international companies, including many based in China, that still do business with North Korea could begin to curb its continued ability to generate hard currency from exports and its continued access to the international financial system. This additional pressure could limit the country’s ability to generate the funds it needs for its nuclear program. Just as important, it would restrict Kim’s ability to handle any ensuing economic instability. This would build critical leverage for the United States in future diplomatic negotiations with North Korea over its nuclear program.
The study says “North Korea’s international trading relationships constitute a target-rich environment.” For example, sanction “any bank or company involved in purchases of North Korean exports – including coal, minerals, textiles, and other products” and “craft sanctions targeting insurance companies that underwrite cargoes to and from North Korea.” The best model for this “tougher approach” with sanctions was the sanctions regiment “that the United States imposed on Iran before the JCPOA was concluded in 2015.” That’s the bad Iran deal Obama slapped together.
RELATED: Some examples of tough sanctions and military leverage.