UNSC votes unanimously for stricter anti-North Korea sanctions

The United Nations Security Council has unanimously voted in favor of a US-drafted resolution significantly bolstering its anti-North Korea sanctions.

The fresh sanctions, which were adopted on Saturday, include an export ban on the North that could curb its annual revenue by some $1 billion.

The sanction blocks all exports of coal, iron and iron ore, lead and lead ore, as well as fish and seafood from the country over its recent missile tests.

It also blocks North Korean from increasing the number of workers it sends abroad, and prevents new joint ventures with Pyongyang or increasing investments in current ventures.

North Korea is under mounting international pressure over its missile and nuclear development programs, but it says it needs to continue and develop its missile force as a deterrent to defend the nation in the face of the US and its regional allies' hegemony. On the 4th of July, the US Independence Day, Pyongyang test-fired an ICBM capable of delivering a "large, heavy nuclear warhead" to the US continent.

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Further action is required: US

“We should not fool ourselves into thinking we have solved the problem. Not even close. The North Korean threat has not left us, it is rapidly growing more dangerous," said US Ambassador to UN Nikki Haley after the vote.

"Further action is required. The United States is taking and will continue to take prudent defensive measures to protect ourselves and our allies," she noted.

China calls on N Korea to cease provocative actions

After the vote, China’s UN Ambassador Liu Jieyi called on Pyongyang to "cease taking actions that might further escalate tensions."

He also called for stopping of the deployment of the US’s THAAD missile system in South Korea and for the dismantling of the already installed equipment.

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"The deployment of the THAAD system will not bring a solution to the issue of (North Korea's) nuclear testing and missile launches," he stressed.

South Korea decided to host the missile system last year under ousted president Park Geun-hye to deter perceived threats from North Korea.

The first pieces of the missile system started arriving at the Osan Air Base in South Korea in March with the approval of Seoul’s then-caretaker administration.

China has angrily objected to the deployment of the missile system so close to its borders and has repeatedly called on Washington and Seoul to remove it.

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