UNITED NATIONS, Aug 6 (APP): The United Nations Security Council on

 Saturday tightened sanctions on North Korea, unanimously voting through a US-drafted resolution that could slash the Asian state’s export revenue by a third, in response to the East Asian country’s latest intercontinental ballistic missile tests. The sanctions ban North Korea's largest export, coal, along with exports of iron and iron ore, lead and lead ore, and seafood. United States Ambassador Nikki Haley, who introduced the resolution,

 said the adoption by all 15 members of the Council signified what she called “a strong, united step toward holding North Korea accountable for its behaviour.”

 It would also forbid countries to take in more North Korean laborers,

 enter into new joint ventures with North Korea or invest more in current ones. "The threat of an outlaw nuclearized North Korean dictatorship remains ... (and) is rapidly growing more dangerous," Haley told council members after the vote. "This resolution is the single largest economic sanctions package ever leveled against the North Korean regime," said Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. "This is the most stringent set of sanctions on any country in a generation. China fears a spread of U.S. influence in the region, though China and the U.S. agree on wanting to stop North Korea's nuclear development. 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. "These are export sectors where this money is viewed as a critical, critical source of hard currency that the North immediately turns around into its fantastically expensive war machine and these just amazingly expensive ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programs," the diplomat said. U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has been frustrated that China has not done more to rein in North Korea and Washington has threatened to impose new sanctions on Chinese firms doing business with Pyongyang. A council diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there was a "high confidence" that North Korea ally China and Russia would support the draft resolution, which was circulated to the 15 Security Council members on Friday.
The United Nations Security Council votes 15–0 to impose sanctions on North Korea for its intercontinental ballistic missile tests.