"It's the most serious (crisis) that we have had to face in years," he said, admitting he was "very worried". Guterres said the key question was to get North Korea to stop its nuclear and ballistic missile programme and respect UN Security Council resolutions. "But we must also maintain the unity of the Security Council at all costs, because it is the only tool which can carry out a diplomatic initiative with a chance of success," he said. The United States wants the Security Council to vote on Monday to impose tougher sanctions against Pyongyang, despite resistance from China and Russia. Diplomatic sources said Russia and China opposed the measures as a whole, except for the ban on textiles, during a meeting of experts Friday.

Source: The Nation Bangkok September 09, 2017 23:03 UTC