UNITED NATIONS, MAR 03 (DNA) – China delayed a US request for a United Nations Security Council committee to blacklist 33 ships, 27 shipping companies, and a Taiwan man for violating international sanctions on North Korea , diplomats said on Friday.

The United States submitted the request a week ago, a move it says is“aimed at shutting down North Korea’s illicit maritime smuggling activities to obtain oil and sell coal.”

The UN request coincided with the United States imposing its largest package of unilateral sanctions against North Korea on Friday, intensifying pressure on Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons and missile programmes.

China did not give a reason for placing a hold on the U

The United States submitted the request a week ago, a move it says is“aimed at shutting down North Korea’s illicit maritime smuggling activities to obtain oil and sell coal.”