UN Security Council unanimously approves tougher sanctions against N. Korea

유엔안보리, 새 대북제재결의안 채택... 북한 자금줄 봉쇄 강화 Our top story this morning... The United Nations Security Council has imposed tough new sanctions on North Korea,... almost three months after the regime conducted its fifth nuclear test in early September. The measures aim to close the loopholes of earlier resolutions,... especially by cutting Pyongyang's access to hard currency. Kwon Soa reports. The UN Security Council's fifteen members unanimously voted in favor for the adoption of Resolution 2321 to punish the North Korean regime for its violations against the international community,... and eventually aiming to get the North on the path towards denuclearization. "Today's resolution includes the toughest and most comprehensive sanctions regime ever imposed by the Security Council. It sends unequivocal message that the DPRK must cease further provocative action." Resolution 2321 took the longest time to draft,... compared to the other UN sanctions imposed on North Korea, for conducting nuclear tests since 2006. The new resolution focuses on cutting the regime's export earnings by at least eight-hundred-million U.S. dollars annually,... especially by capping its coal shipments by more than 60 percent. While the previous resolution already included a ban on coal shipments,... loopholes were found,... due to the exclusion of coal used for "livelihood" purposes. Diplomats and entities have been added on its blacklist,... as well as further restrictions on the North's maritime and financial sectors,... exports of helicopters, ships and statues. For the first time,... North Korea was also warned that its status as a UN member state could be under threat if it continues to flout its international obligations. However, as South Korea's ambassador to the UN said,... there's still room at the table for Pyongyang if it changes its ways... "No country is an island. North Korea is not an island either. For themselves I think they should forgo their nuclear program and come back to us for talks and for dialogue to settle this issue." But until then,... Washington's chief representative to the UN says the effective implementation of sanctions is everything. "All member states are obliged to enforce the sanctions contained in this resolution, scrupulously and in the spirit of the resolution's intentions, to cut off even further the North Korean regime's ability to fund its senseless weapons programs." The South Korean government highly welcomed the resolution,... with Seoul's foreign minister hinting that additional independent sanctions from South Korea, ...the U.S., Japan, and the EU are likely to follow. Kwon Soa, Arirang News. Visit ‘Arirang News’ Official Pages Facebook(NEWS):   / newsarirang   Homepage: http://www.arirang.com Facebook:   / arirangtv   Twitter:   / arirangworld   Instagram:   / arirangworld