The US called on the UN to stiffen sanctions against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) for its third nuclear test in February. US Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice sent a new draft resolution to 14 UN Security Council members, which was to be voted on today. According to a UN source, the new draft adds three more individuals and two corporations to the list of travel sanctions and asset freezes, lengthening the blacklist to 17 companies and 9 individuals. The resolution also enjoins condemned nations and individuals to end all financial transactions that involve nuclear or missile programs or DPRK’s weapons export. It also strengthens observation of diplomats and says that UN members must block DPRK’s airplanes from their airspace.

Photo: AFP

China has agreed to protest North Korea’s nuclear test and urge the international community to condemn this dangerous action. China's UN ambassador, Li Baodong, said “We support the action taken by the council, but we think that the action should be proportionate, should be balanced, and focused on reducing the tension and focusing on the diplomatic track”. Meanwhile, Russian UN ambassador Alexander Lukashevich said that Moscow considers the new UN resolution balanced. The same day, South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe agreed by phone on a response to the DPRK’s third nuclear test on February 12. The two leaders agreed to cooperate with the US to promote the UN new resolution. Meanwhile, according to Yonhap, the DPRK has established a no-fly zone and restricted ships on its West and East coast. This move suggests that the DPRK will soon conduct a large military exercise or test a short-range missile.