Monday, the United Nations Security Council voted unanimously to increase sanctions against North Korea after the rogue state’s latest nuclear weapons test.
The sanctions resolution was drafted by the United States and illustrates the UN’s willingness to step up their efforts in pressuring the Hermit Kingdom to halt or deescalate their weapons programs. This comes on the heels of last month’s imposition of further financial penalties.
Bloomberg reports that this new resolution is taking aim at the country’s imports, allegedly cutting off “refined petroleum products to 2 million barrels a year while also banning textile imports.”
The resolution to be put in place also allows for countries to freeze assets of cargo ships if the operators of said ships choose not to comply with inspections at sea.
In a late August address following North Korea’s missile test over Japan, President Trump commented, “This regime has signaled its contempt for its neighbors, for all members of the United Nations and for minimum standards of acceptable international behavior.”
Secretary of Defense James Mattis asserts that if the state threatens the U.S. or any of its allies, they will be met with military response.
