China, Russia cool to US aim for more N. Korea sanctions

By JENNIFER PELTZ
Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — North Korea’s test of a big new intercontinental ballistic missile is prompting the United States to press for stiffer U.N. sanctions. But China and Russia are showing little appetite for tightening restrictions that they have been trying to ease. U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said Friday that her country would propose a U.N. Security Council measure “to update and strengthen” sanctions, declining to give specifics. Veto-wielding China and Russia proposed last fall to lift various sanctions on North Korea, and Russia said Friday that further sanctions would harm North Korean citizens. China urged the council to consider North Korea’s security concerns.