UN Security Council hits North Korea with more sanctions

   
In response to North Korea's third nuclear test, the UN Security Council voted on Thursday to tighten financial restrictions on Pyongyang and crack down on its attempts to ship and receive banned cargo in breach of UN sanctions.    

The US-drafted resolution, which was approved unanimously by the 15-nation council, was the product of three weeks of negotiations between the United States and China after North Korea's third nuclear test on Feb. 12.    

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, a former South Korean foreign minister, welcomed the council's move, saying in a statement that the resolution "sent an unequivocal message to (North Korea) that the international community will not tolerate its pursuit of nuclear weapons."

North Korea's threat of a nuclear strike on the United States will achieve nothing, US Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice said on Thursday as China called for the full implementation of a new UN sanctions resolution on Pyongyang.   

"North Korea will achieve nothing by continued threats and provocations. These will only further isolate the country and its people and undermine international efforts to promote peace and stability in northeast Asia," Rice told reporters.   

China's UN Ambassador Li Baodong said Beijing wanted to see "full implementation" of a new UN Security Council resolution that tightens financial restrictions on Pyongyang and cracks down on its attempts to ship and receive banned cargo.

REUTERS