Anchor: The United States and China are in negotiations about when they should seek new United Nations Security Council(UNSC) sanctions against North Korea. Pyongyang has continued to disregard current UNSC sanctions and launch ballistic missiles, however, it is said China will only act if the North launches a long-range missile or conducts a nuclear test.
Our Alannah Hill has this report. 

Report: The United States and China are negotiating when they should push for further United Nations Security Council(UNSC) action on North Korea.
 
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said on Tuesday that the two nations are discussing when the best time to seek new sanctions is and that a decision could be reached by this week.
 
[Sound bite: U.S. Ambassador to UN Nikki Haley]
"At what point do we do the resolution, is kind of the discussions we're having now. At what test model do we say 'OK, now it's time for a resolution' or do we go ahead and go forward? And I think that's what we're trying to work on."
 
UN diplomats, speaking on the condition of anonymity, have said it appeared China was still only prepared to act if North Korea conducted a long-range missile launch or a nuclear test and that Beijing does not view the dozens of ballistic missile launches in the past year as warranting further UN sanctions.
 
Haley praised China for its efforts to counter North Korea’s nuclear issue and said the U.S. and China will continue to work together.
 
[Sound bite: U.S. Ambassador to UN Nikki Haley]
"At this point I do believe and I think the administration believes that China is doing back-channel networking with North Korea in a way that's getting them to try and stop the nuclear testing. So we believe that they are being productive. We do believe that they are trying to counter what is happening now and they have the lay of the land and so we're going to keep the pressure on China, but we're going to continue to work with them in any way that they think is best, and I think that we'll decide this week on what that looks like."
 
The Security Council first imposed sanctions on Pyongyang in 2006 over its ballistic missile and nuclear programs and has ratcheted up the measures in response to five nuclear tests and two long-range missile launches. North Korea is threatening a sixth nuclear test.
 
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told the UN Security Council on April 28th that the 15-member body needed to act before North Korea does. Just hours after the meeting, chaired by Tillerson, Pyongyang launched yet another ballistic missile. 

Within days of the launch, the United States proposed to China that the Security Council strengthen sanctions on North Korea over its repeated ballistic missile launches.
 
Traditionally, the U.S. and China have negotiated new sanctions before involving the other 13 UNSC members. Since then Pyongyang has launched several more ballistic missiles.
Alannah Hill, KBS World Radio News. 

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