North Korea crisis deepens, more tests likely: Analysts

Experts are not optimistic about the prospects of tighter sanctions reining in North Korea's nuclear weapons and missile programmes, given that Pyongyang has repeatedly said its ambitions are non-negotiable.

But sanctions are the only option available to the international community to put pressure on the regime of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Most recently, North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho reiterated at the Asean Regional Forum in Manila on Monday (Aug 7) that his country “will, under no circumstances, put the nukes and ballistic rockets on the negotiating table”.

…

Mr Anthony Ruggiero, a sanctions expert and Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defence of Democracies in Washington, suggested that robust sanctions had not been tried against the North Korean regime, with the actions taken against Pyongyang far less even now than those that were applied to force Iran to stop its nuclear weapons programme.

…

Read more here.