U.S. plans new sanctions for North Korea

미 공화당, 26일 백악관서 상원의원 전원 대상 북한 브리핑 The U.S. government has announced new plans to tighten sanctions on North Korea. Washington will also work more closely with its regional allies. The statement was released after the White House made a rare briefing to senators on the grave threat posed by Pyongyang. For more details, Yu Joonhee has this report. All 100 members of the U.S. Senate were summoned to the White House on Wednesday, in an unusual, classified briefing by the Trump administration. Following the meeting, a joint statement was released by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Secretary of Defense James Mattis and the Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats. They conveyed President Trump's wishes to pressure North Korea into dismantling its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, by tightening economic sanctions and pursuing diplomatic options with U.S. allies and other partners in the Asia-Pacific region. While calling on the international community to help diffuse tensions and convince the regime in Pyongyang to de-escalate, it also added that the United States was prepared to defend itself as well as its allies, if the circumstances called for it. The statement comes just hours after the top U.S. commander in the Pacific testified in Congress, that demonstrations of American military might, were crucial to keeping North Korea in check. Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have risen after the U.S. deployed warships to the region and moved ahead with its deployment of the THAAD missile defense system in South Korea. While China has long maintained its opposition to the deployment, the Trump administration has recently taken considerable effort to enlist Beijing's assistance in pressuring North Korea. Yu Joonhee, Arirang News.