United Nations Security Council Resolution 2397 is a

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adopted unanimously on 22 December 2017 in response to North Korea's launch of a Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile on 28 November of that year. The resolution condemned the launch and further tightened sanctions on the country, restricting fuel imports and other trade, as well as the ability of North Korean citizens to work abroad. On 24 December, the North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the resolution constitutes an

act of war A (; ) is an act or an event that either provokes or is used to justify a war. A ''casus belli'' involves direct offenses or threats against the nation declaring the war, whereas a ' involves offenses or threats against its ally—usually one b ...

Provisions

The resolution has several provisions. It limits the North Korean import of refined petroleum to 500,000

barrel A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers for liquids, ...

s for each 12-month period, starting on 1 January 2018. A ban was also imposed on the export of food, machinery, electrical equipment, earth and stones, wood and vessels from North Korea, and export of industrial equipment, machinery, transportation vehicles and industrial metals to it.

Asset freeze Asset freezing is a form of interim or interlocutory injunction which prevents a defendant to an action from dealing with or dissipating its assets so as to frustrate a potential judgment. It is widely recognised in other common law jurisdictions ...

s were imposed on the North Korean Ministry of People's Armed Forces and banking officials. The UN member states were authorized to "seize, inspect, freeze and impound any vessel in their territorial waters" found to illicitly supply petroleum to North Korea. The resolution also called for the return of all North Korean nationals earning income abroad, with some humanitarian exceptions, within 24 months.

Voting rationales

US Ambassador to the United Nations

Nikki Haley Nimrata Nikki Haley (née Randhawa; born January 20, 1972) is an American diplomat and politician who served as the 116th and first female governor of South Carolina from 2011 to 2017, and as the 29th United States ambassador to the United Na ...

said that the launch "was an unprecedented violation which required an unprecedented response" and that "further defiance would result in further isolation". Permanent Representative of France

François Delattre François Delattre (born 15 November 1963) is a French diplomat and senior civil servant who has been serving as France’s Ambassador to Germany since 2022. From 2019 to 2022, Delattre served as Secretary General of the Ministry of Europe and ...

called the resolution "a significant step in bolstering action against the provocations" of North Korea. Permanent Representative of Egypt Amr Abdellatif Aboulatta said that he had voted in favour of the resolution "to maintain the credibility of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, which must be binding without discrimination or distinction". Permanent Representative of Kazakhstan to the United Nations

Kairat Umarov Kairat Ermekuly Umarov ( kk, Qaırat Ermekuly Omarov, born 12 January 1963) is a diplomat for the Republic of Kazakhstan. On October 6, 2022, he was appointed First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan. Biography From 1998 to 2003, ...

said that "the temporary nature of the sanctions must be stressed in order for the measures to have their desired result of bringing about talks".

North Korean reaction

On 24 December 2017, the North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement saying that the resolution "is tantamount to complete

economic blockade A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force. A blockade differs from an embargo or sanction, which are le ...

of the DPRK". The statement defined the resolution "as a grave infringement upon the sovereignty" of North Korea and "an act of war violating peace and stability in the Korean peninsula and the region". According to the statement, the nuclear weapons serve "self-defensive deterrence that does not contradict any international law" since they were developed "in a fair and legitimate way outside of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons in order to put an end to the hostile policy and nuclear threats and blackmail of the U.S."

References

External links

Text of the Resolution at undocs.orgFact sheet: UN Security Council Resolution 2397 on North Korea
{{UNSCR 2017 2397 Nuclear program of North Korea United Nations Security Council resolutions concerning North Korea 2017 in North Korea December 2017 events Sanctions against North Korea