US and China sanctions on North Korea

The US and China say they have made progress on a draft UN resolution to harden sanctions on North Korea, after its rocket launch and nuclear test.

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi and US Secretary of State John Kerry said a draft could soon be ready for approval. 

Although China condemned North Korea's actions, it has always been reluctant to endorse sanctions that could threaten its neighbour's stability.

February's long-range rocket launch followed a nuclear test in January.

Both were widely condemned as a flagrant violation of UN resolutions and led to emergency sessions of the UN Security Council, where powers agreed to work towards toughening sanctions.

The North insists it was merely launching a satellite and that its space programme is purely scientific in nature, but the US, South Korea and even its ally China say such rocket launches are aimed at developing inter-continental ballistic missiles.

Shortly after the launch, South Korea signalled its intent to begin discussions with the US on the deployment of a missile defence system to counter the threat from the North. The US also tightened its own sanctions. 

The North's nuclear test in January, which it claimed was a test of hydrogen bomb technology, was its fourth since 2006. Its claims remain unconfirmed, with many experts expressing scepticism that North Korea can make a nuclear weapon small enough to fit on a missile.

Analysts say that the tests may indeed have been part of an effort by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to bolster his authority and standing ahead of a landmark party congress expected to take place later this year.