China and the United States on Wednesday reached an apparent agreement on a draft United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution outlining sanctions intended to end North Korea's nuclear ambitions and bring Pyongyang closer to the negotiating table, according to council diplomats. 

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the diplomats told South Korea's Yonhap news agency that the draft resolution blacklists three agencies overseeing Pyongyang's nuclear, missile and espionage programs, among others. 

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"It's a substantive, long, full draft," one senior council diplomat said, adding the US and China had to resolve a number of disagreements before arriving at a final version of the document.  "There is an agreement between those two countries," the source said. 

Washington was pushing for measures to restrict North Korea's access to international ports, the sources claimed. It is unclear whether China agreed to those terms.

"30 Individuals and Entities"

The same sources claim the draft document could be brought to the 15-member council soon.  It usually takes the body three days to vote and approve resolutions, according to Yonhap.

The proposed resolution reportedly levels sanctions against 30 individuals and entities, including North Korea's Ministry of Atomic Energy Industry, the country's National Aerospace Development Agency (NADA) and its secretive spy agency, the General Reconnaissance Bureau.

For seven weeks, the US and China have been at loggerheads over North Korea as Beijing refused to back tough economic sanctions demanded by Washington against Pyongyang. Both countries have the authority to veto proposed UNSC resolutions.

"Sanctions are not an end in themselves," said Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi in a joint press briefing with US state secretary John Kerry in Beijing last month.

Traditional Allies

Wang is in Washington this week for another round of talks with Kerry on the substance of the draft UNSC resolution against North Korea.

On January 7, North Korea shocked the world by announcing it had successfully tested a hydrogen bomb. 

International observers in South Korea and the West questioned whether the test detonation was that of a hydrogen bomb as Kim Jong Un alleged, or a fission bomb similar to what Pyongyang had tested previously. 

Despite the doubts, however, North Korea's move brought scathing criticism on Kim's leadership -- not just from Western countries, but also from North Korea's traditional allies, Russia and China.

Then, a month later, the country launched a rocket that put a satellite into orbit, which was seen as a demonstration that the country possesses the technology to build ballistic missiles capable of striking the West.

The UNSC is scheduled to discuss the proposed sanctions against North Korea on Thursday at 3PM ET (20:00 GMT), according to the UN press office.

TagsUS-China relations, UN Security Council resolution, North Korea