US tightens North Korea sanctions

A man watches a television news program reporting about North Korea's recently rocket launching at the Seoul Train Station in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Feb. 11, 2016. Under the gaze of armed soldiers, large white trucks streamed across the world's most armed border Thursday as South Korean workers on Thursday began shutting down a jointly run industrial park in North Korea. The South's suspension will end, at least temporarily, the Koreas' last major cooperation project as punishment over Pyongyang's recent rocket launch. The letters read "North, Long range missile launch." (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

A man watches a television news program reporting about North Korea's recently rocket launching at the Seoul Train Station in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Feb. 11, 2016. Under the gaze of armed soldiers, large white trucks streamed across the world's most armed border Thursday as South Korean workers on Thursday began shutting down a jointly run industrial park in North Korea. The South's suspension will end, at least temporarily, the Koreas' last major cooperation project as punishment over Pyongyang's recent rocket launch. The letters read "North, Long range missile launch." (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Published Feb 11, 2016

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Washington - The US Senate voted unanimously late on Wednesday to tighten sanctions on North Korea in the wake of nuclear and missile tests by the reclusive regime in recent weeks.

The legislation “leaves no doubt about our determination to neutralise any threat with robust, realistic diplomacy to reach the clear goal of a denuclearised Korean Peninsula,” Senator Bob Menendez, one of the its sponsors, wrote in an op-ed published on Wednesday.

The lower House of Representatives, which passed a similar measure last month, must now pass the Senate version before it can be submitted to the president, or both chambers can pass a compromise bill.

The legislation tightens sanctions on Pyongyang's nuclear and ballistic missile programmes, while requiring the US government to investigate sanctions-eligible activities and sanction those who support the regime.

It establishes sanctions for cyber attacks and human rights violations by North Korea.

US President Barack Obama's administration has sought to reassure Asian allies and bolster international resolve against North Korea in the wake of a nuclear test last month and a missile launch on the weekend.

The White House has frequently noted that the North Korean regime is already so economically isolated that the ability to further isolate the regime is limited.

James Clapper, US director of national intelligence, told Congress on Tuesday that North Korea has expanded its nuclear programme and restarted a plutonium reactor at its main nuclear facility.

North Korea's recent missile and nuclear activity has alarmed its regional neighbours, in particular South Korea and Japan, and provoked warnings from the United States, China and the United Nations.

DPA

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