Washington: The United Nations Security Council has voted unanimously to impose the new sanctions on North Korea, banning exports that supply up to a third of the country's annual $US3 billion ($3.7 billion) earnings.

The US-sponsored resolution is the most punitive against the rogue state in 11 years and comes in response to North Korea's launch of two intercontinental ballistic missiles last month, activities prohibited under existing UN resolutions.

The sanctions ban North Korea's largest export, coal, along with exports of iron and iron ore, lead and lead ore, and seafood. Together, those exports amount to more than $US1 billion a year in income for Pyongyang.

The measure's unanimous approval was a diplomatic victory for the Trump administration and partly reflected growing impatience with North Korea by China. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly called on China to exert more pressure on its neighbour over its nuclear belligerence.

Whether Trump's badgering played any role in China's support for the resolution is unclear. But its willingness to enforce the resolution's provisions will be critical to its effectiveness.

China's ambassador to the United Nations, Liu Jieyi, hinted at his country's vexation with North Korea in his Security Council remarks after the vote. He urged North Korean authorities to "cease taking actions that might further escalate tensions".

But Mr Liu also criticised the US, calling for dismantlement of the THAAD missile defence system it has begun installing in South Korea.

US Ambassador Nikki Haley told the council the vote showed Pyongyang that the world was united in seeking to end its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. But "we should not fool ourselves into thinking we have solved the problem," Mrs Haley said. "Not even close. The North Korean threat has not left us."

She said the US had no plans to decrease its military exercises with South Korea, despite calls from China and Russia to do so, in exchange for gradual deescalation of its prohibited weapons activities.

Both Beijing and Moscow, in casting their votes for the new sanctions, said they appreciated statements by US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson last week that the US does not seek North Korea's collapse, replacement of its government or "accelerated reunification" of the Korean peninsula, and has no intention of send troops there.

"Our hope is that the United States will translate these 'four no's' into a firm policy," Mr Liu told the council.

And he repeated THAAD would "not bring a solution" to the crisis."What it will do is to seriously undermine the strategic balance of the region."

China also called for the resumption of talks between North Korea, regional powers and the United States. Last Week, Mr Tillerson said Washington was interested in a "productive dialogue," but only on the basis of Pyongyang's acceptance of nuclear disarmament.

"We don't think having a dialogue where the North Koreans come to the table assuming they're going to maintain their nuclear weapons is productive," he said.

China accounts for 90 per cent of North Korea's economic activity. Passage of the new resolution follows nearly a month of US-Chinese negotiations over the text, bolstered with Trump administration warnings that it was preparing to lodge unrelated complaints against Beijing at the World Trade Organisation.

It condemns the long-range missile tests, and reminds North Korea that tests of both the missiles and nuclear weapons are prohibited by previous resolutions.

In addition to banning exports, the resolution also prohibits all countries from increasing the number of North Korean labourers they employ, prohibits any new joint ventures and commercial agreements with North Korea, and increased investment in existing ventures.

The goal is to prevent North Korea's access to hard currency, which Mrs Haley and other delegates said are not used for the welfare of the North Korean people. The US had initially hoped to ban oil exports and additional banking and commercial penalties, which were opposed by China and Russia.

Although UN sanctions were first imposed in 2006 against North Korea, they have not prevented tests of five nuclear warheads and four long-range missile launches since then, including the two launches in July. </s> The U.N. Security Council on Monday unanimously approved new sanctions on North Korea in a watered-down resolution without an oil import ban or international asset freeze on the government and leader Kim Jong Un that the Trump administration wanted.

The resolution does ban North Korea from importing all natural gas liquids and condensates. But it only caps Pyongyang's imports of crude oil at the level of the last 12 months, and it limits the import of refined petroleum products to 2 million barrels a year.

It also bans all textile exports and prohibits all countries from authorizing new work permits for North Korean workers — two key sources of hard currency. </s> Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings.

San Francisco became the first major U.S. city to ban e-cigarettes after city supervisors unanimously passed the measure in a final vote Tuesday. The ban will go into effect 30 days after the mayor signs the ordinance.

San Francisco's Board of Supervisors approvedan ordinance to prohibit the sale of electronic cigarettes in the city until marketing for the devices are approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The board voted unanimously last week to approve the bill but a city ordinance in San Francisco requires two readings before it can be put into effect.

The measure specifically singled out the use of electronic cigarettes for presenting "significant public health consequence" to minors.

A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study from February stated that about 4.9 million middle and high school students were vaping in 2018, up from 3.6 million the year before. CDC Director Robert R. Redfield said when the study released that the country must help keep kids safe from a preventable health risk.

“The skyrocketing growth of young people’s e-cigarette use over the past year threatens to erase progress made in reducing youth tobacco use," Redfield said. "It’s putting a new generation at risk for nicotine addiction."

The new measure passed along with a similar ordinance that bans the sale, manufacture and distribution of e-cigarettes on city property. San Francisco's newest measures expand on a 2014 measure which banned the sale of such devices where the sales of traditional tobacco products are already prohibited.

Supervisor Shamann Walton, who co-sponsored the ordinance, said in a statement Tuesday that the ban is until the FDA completes appropriate clinical trials and issues standards on e-cigarettes.

"As of now the FDA has not made a ruling on the safety and all health issues associated with e-cigarettes," Walton said. "In addition, the Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to never allow companies that sell, manufacture or distribute tobacco products, to lease any city property."

E-cigarette company Juul, which is based in San Francisco, frames vaping as a healthier alternative to smoking tobacco. Juul has said it has taken steps to deter children from using its products.

Juul spokesman Ted Kwong said in a statement Tuesday that the city's ban will "create a thriving black market instead of addressing the actual causes of underage access and use." The company said it has taken steps to enhance its age verification process online and shut down its Facebook and Instagram accounts to restrict underage access.

"We are proposing a comprehensive set of new city regulations that require mandatory electronic scanning of IDs to verify age and ID validity to avoid human error, restrictions on bulk purchases to discourage unauthorized resale or sharing of products, city permits for all online vapor product retailers who wish to do business here, and increased restrictions on marketing for vapor products to name a few," Kwong said.

San Francisco's measure also sets the stage for a November ballot fight over e-cigarettes. Juul has already contributed $500,000 to the Coalition for Reasonable Vaping Regulation, which is set to gather signatures to put an initiative on the issue before voters.

The American Vaping Association also opposes San Francisco's proposal, saying adult smokers deserve access to less hazardous alternatives.
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