China and Russia suggest lifting UN sanctions on N.Korea

China and Russia proposed late on Monday that the UN Security Council lift some of its sanctions on North Korea, risking heightened tensions with Washington, a draft seen by Reuters on Tuesday revealed.

The proposal to remove sanctions tabled at the UN Security Council comes as the vague deadline between the US and North Korea to change course on their denuclearisation talks come to an end at the start of 2020.

Vipin Narang, associate professor of political science at MIT, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Wednesday that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was sending a message to Trump regarding North Korea’s latest short-range missile test.

“The message was loud and clear. This was Kim Jong Un’s maximum pressure campaign on President Trump. Like if you’re not hearing me about changing your calculations and giving sanctions relief and security guarantee and getting rid of the hostile policy, I can show you what long-range missiles look like,” said Narang.

The sanctions that are included in the proposal from China and Russia affect the export of statues, seafood and textiles, Reuters reported.

The draft also called for a ban to be lifted on North Koreans working abroad and the end of a 2017 requirement that would force all such workers to return to their country next week.

The draft would also exempt inter-Korean rail and road cooperation projects from UN sanctions.

In order for the draft to be approved, it must be put to a vote in the Security Council where there can be no vetoes.

“We’re not rushing things,” Russian U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told Reuters. He also said that these proposals are “not directly related to the North Korea nuclear program, this is a humanitarian issue.”

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters on Tuesday that some sanctions should be lifted in light of North Korea’s compliance “with relevant resolutions”.

“We hope the Security Council will speak with one voice in support of a political resolution,” Geng told a regular briefing.

A US State Department official answered that now was not the time for the Security Council to consider lifting sanctions on North Korea, implying that the US would veto such a proposal.

The US official said that North Korea was currently “threatening to conduct an escalated provocation, refusing to meet to discuss denuclearization, and continuing to maintain and advance its prohibited weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs.”

The State Department official said nevertheless that Trump remained committed to making progress using diplomacy.

In a Wednesday note, Eurasia Group’s Asia director Scott Seaman wrote "tensions are rising more quickly than we anticipated [...] odds of Trump and Kim cutting a denuclearization deal before the 2020 US election have decreased."