Alwaght- UN sanctions on North Korea are ostensibly aimed at limiting the ability to further its nuclear weapons program, while the imposed sanctions appears to be targeted more at collapsing the country's economy.

Having repeatedly shunned North Korean proposals for negotiations over the last several years, the Obama Administration succeeded last week in securing harsh UN sanctions that can only further strain relations.

Global Research in an article, titled as UN Sanctions Designed to Impose Suffering on the North Korean People, sheds lights on the intention of harsh UN sanctions on North Korea.

There are numerous articles in the resolution intended to inflict economic harm on the Democratic People�s Republic of Korea (DPRK � the official name for North Korea), and only the more prominent are mentioned here.

Article 29 prohibits North Korea from exporting coal, iron, and iron-ore unless it can be proven that the revenue from their sale is �exclusively for livelihood purposes.� As foreign exchange raised by exports ends up in the coffers of mining firms, no direct relationship can be traced to its ultimate use. In other words, this article amounts to a total ban on the export of these assets.

Article 32 imposes a freeze on all financial assets held abroad by North Korean entities or individuals that a UN member state deems as being engaged in trade prohibited by UN resolutions.

Nations are required to inspect all cargo either originating from or destined to the DPRK, in search of banned items. Shipping delays resulting from the inspection process will inevitably impose financial losses. Furthermore, the DPRK�s trading partners may decide to disengage from the relationship when it becomes apparent that contractual delivery dates cannot be met due to inspection delays.

The intent of all of these measures is to strangle North Korea�s ability to engage in normal trade.

The United States, acting through means of the UN Security Council resolution, is waging economic warfare on the DPRK and imposing collective punishment on the entire North Korean population.

That U.S. hostility is politically motivated and is underlined by the good relations it maintains with other nations operating outside of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Israel, India and Pakistan all have far more advanced nuclear weapons programs, yet only the DPRK is singled out for sanctions.

Similarly, many nations launch satellites into orbit, but only North Korea is banned for doing so.

By Alwaght