US ambassador warns beyond economic sanctions, the United States ready to counteract the North ‘through other means’.
The UN Security Council voted unanimously to add 15 individuals and four entities linked to North Korea’s nuclear and missile programmes to a UN sanctions blacklist, but Chinese opposition blocked tougher new sanctions that the United States was pushing.
While the resolution will impose a global travel ban and asset freeze on a range of North Koreans – including the man believed to head its overseas espionage operations and foreign intelligence collection – it will not target critical oil deliveries, a measure the Trump administration was seeking to step up pressure on Pyongyang.
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In a tough speech after the vote, US Ambassador Nikki Haley said « the Security Council is sending a clear message to North Korea today: Stop firing ballistic missiles or face the consequences ».
While she said the US wants a negotiated solution to the North’s nuclear programme and isn’t seeking regime change, she reiterated « all options for responding to future provocations remain on the table ».
Haley urged all countries to break diplomatic ties with North Korea, stop illegal trade and do more to break up smuggling rings and cut off funding for the country’s nuclear and missile programmes.
