Diplomats said on Friday that China placed a hold on the Washington request.
A hold, which is often used by United Nations Security Council members to obtain more information, can either be lifted or sometimes lead to a permanent blocking of a proposal.
Last week, the Washington requested the Security Council to subject 33 ships, 19 of which are North Korean, to a global port entry ban and freeze the assets of 27 shipping companies.
The United States said the proposal was aimed at shutting down North Korea’s “illicit maritime smuggling activities to obtain oil and sell coal.”
Since 2006, United Nations Security Council has intensified sanctions against Pyongyang’s over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, banning North Korea’s exports of coal, iron, lead, textiles and seafood, and the country’s imports of crude oil and refined petroleum products.
In late February, the US Treasury blacklisted more than 50 North Korea-linked shipping companies, vessels, and trade businesses, imposing an asset freeze and barring US citizens from dealing with them.
US President Donald Trump described the measures as the “heaviest sanctions ever” levied on Pyongyang.
The North Korean Foreign Ministry censured the US sanctions as an “act of war.”
Although the US administration says it prefers a diplomatic solution to the crisis, it has repeatedly threatened Pyongyang with military action.
