US pressures China to do more about North Korea's nuclear program

The United Nations Security Council meets on North Korea's nuclear program at U.N. headquarters in New York City, Dec. 15, 2017. (Reuters)

The United States is calling for tougher sanctions against North Korea in a new draft resolution given to China.

The document, a call for pushing global sanctions against the rogue nation, was given to Beijing last week, in hopes of having a vote in the U.N. Security Council this week, Reuters reported, citing information from a Western diplomat.

China – the primary oil supplier to North Korea – is the rogue regime's largest trading partner. North Korea’s refined petroleum is capped off by previous U.N. sanctions at 2 million barrels a year.

But although China has backed previous rounds of sanctions against North Korea, the U.S. has criticized China for not taking a harder stance.

At a joint press conference Tuesday in Canada, U.S. Secretary of State of State Rex Tillerson and Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland announced their countries’ intention to co-host a meeting of foreign ministers Jan. 16 as a “demonstration of international solidarity against North Korea’s dangerous and illegal actions.”