North Korea on Monday warned the United States that it would pay a “due price” for spearheading efforts to have fresh sanctions imposed on the regime after its latest nuclear test, Reuters reported. The UN Security Council is set to vote on a US-drafted resolution later on Monday.
Although the US had originally included an oil embargo among its demands, the resolution now appears to only have called for a halt on Pyongyang’s key exports of textiles and subjecting leader Kim Jong-un to a financial and travel ban. Diplomats believe the resolution was watered down to appease Russia and China, which both have veto powers in the Security Council.
The draft no longer proposes blacklisting Kim Jong-un and reduces sanctions on oil and gas. But North Korea has warned it will inflict “the greatest pain and suffering” on the US if it continues to call for the sanctions, The Guardian reported.
“In case the US eventually does rig up the illegal and unlawful ‘resolution’ on harsher sanctions, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea shall make absolutely sure the US pays due price,” a spokesperson for the country’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement carried by the official KCNA news agency.
Sixth nuclear test since 2006
North Korea was condemned globally for conducting its sixth nuclear test since 2006 on September 3. The country said it had tested an advanced hydrogen bomb.
Experts believe the isolated regime is close to its goal of developing a powerful nuclear weapon capable of reaching the United States.
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