Congress Not Expected to Lift Sanctions on Kaesong Industrial Complex or Kumgang Tours
It looks like the Moon administration better come up with a Plan B because their effort for an “ethnic exemption” to sanctions appears to not be getting traction in the US:
The U.S. Congress may pass a bill calling for additional sanctions on North Korea as early as May, according to multiple diplomatic sources Tuesday, a move to pressure Pyongyang to take meaningful denuclearization measures.
Joong Ang Ilbo
Despite analysis by Seoul officials that Washington was unlikely to implement new sanctions on North Korea in the near future, the sources indicated that preparations for new legislation are already finished.
“Following the collapse of the second North-U.S. summit, the Republicans and Democrats are considering introducing legislation to strengthen sanctions on North Korea,” said one diplomatic source in Washington. “Because they have been preparing the bill for a year, there is plenty of possibility it may be introduced in May or June.”
The source said that the push to strengthen sanctions on the North is centered around the Senate’s committees on armed services, finance and foreign relations.
Another overseas source said, “If North Korea doesn’t show steps toward meaningful denuclearization measures by next month, it will be a matter of time that sanctions will be strengthened, rather than eased.”
The source added, “I met with a key U.S. administration official in charge of sanctions following the Hanoi summit who clearly said that they are not considering sanctions relief to allow the resumption of Mount Kumgang tourism or the reopening of the Kaesong Industrial Complex.”
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