The draft resolution on the extension of the mandate of the expert group of the UN Security Council's North Korea sanctions committee failed to pass, with Russia voting against and China abstaining.
Geng Shuang, the deputy permanent representative of China to the United Nations, stated that sanctions and pressure, as well as military confrontation, are not conducive to solving the issue on the Korean Peninsula. In the case where the authorization of the expert group has not expired ultimately and all parties still have time to negotiate, the vote was still taken, and China had no choice but to abstain.
Geng Shuang added that simply increasing sanctions and pressure will not help solve the problem, but will only have the opposite effect.
He once again urged all parties to adopt a rational and practical attitude, adhere to the direction of political settlement, resume contacts as soon as possible, establish mutual trust, and restart dialogue. The international community, including the Security Council, should also create a favorable atmosphere for this.
