US, China 'agree on' DPRK sanctions

A DPRK soldier stands in front of the Unha 3 rocket at the launch site in Tongchang-ri, on April 8, 2012. [Photo/IC]

The United States and China have agreed on a proposed UN resolution on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and will not accept Pyongyang as a nuclear weapons state, the White House and United Nations diplomats said on Wednesday.

US National Security Advisor Susan Rice and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi agreed during a meeting "on the importance of a strong and united international response to North Korea’s provocations, including through a UN Security Council resolution that goes beyond previous resolutions," the White House said in a statement.

The statement came as diplomats at United Nations headquarters in New York said that Washington and Beijing had agreed on a draft resolution imposing fresh sanctions on the DPRK and that the Security Council could vote on the measure in the coming days.

The US circulated the draft of the sanctions on Wednesday to the other permanent members of the Security Council — Britain, France and Russia — and was set to formally present it to the full 15-member council soon, said the diplomats, who asked not to be identified.

"There is good progress on the resolution, and we are hopeful that there will be adoption in the coming days," one diplomat said.

Another diplomat described the draft resolution as a "significantly substantive text", while yet another said it contained "a large number of very tough measures", as well as names to be added to the sanctions blacklist.

Beijing offered no direct comment on Thursday about the White House statement.