United Nations extends North Korea sanctions in 'clear message' to Pyongyang

Among the new names targeted are the Koryo Bank and Strategic Rocket Force of the Korean People's Army, as well as the head of Pyongyang's overseas spying operations.

The United States has turned up the heat on North Korea and its main benefactor China, calling the North Koreans a "clear and present danger" and chastising the Chinese for coercive
behaviour in the South China Sea.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has said that all options are on the table to rid North Korea of its nuclear weapons, leaving open the possibility of pre-emptive military action.

Adding names to the United Nations blacklist mean a global travel ban and asset freeze, making the listings more symbolic given the isolated nature of official North Korean entities and the sophisticated network of front companies used by Pyongyang to evade current sanctions.

US allies have been anxious by Trump's actively courting Chinese President Xi Jinping to restrain North Korea, fearing Washington might allow China a more free rein elsewhere in the region.

As reported by Express, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Russia's Vladimir Titov have condemned North Korea's missile tests but have called the other countries not to take any rash decisions, asking "at present, the situation on the Korean peninsula is complex and sensitive, and we hope all relevant sides maintain calm and exercise restraint".

While eager to work with China in dealing with North Korea, Mattis said the United States did not accept China placing weapons and other military assets on man-made islands in the South China Sea.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told the Security Council on April 28 that it needed to act before North Korea does.

"The United States is a longtime Pacific power", she said.

"The current North Korean program signals a clear intent to acquire nuclear-armed ballistic missiles, including those of intercontinental range, that pose direct and immediate threats to our regional allies, partners and all the world", Mattis said, adding that Pyongyang's actions "are manifestly illegal under global law". "As a matter of national security, the United States regards the threat from North Korea as a clear and present danger". In late May, North Korea launched a short-range ballistic missile which landed in the Sea of Japan, about 300km off the Japanese coast. Those measures aimed to cut North Korea's annual export revenue by a quarter.

"The last-ditch gambling of the Trump administration for a nuclear war will only bring earlier the day when the USA mainland will turn into ashes", said the spokesperson. Moscow's support had been unclear after the United States imposed its own sanctions on Thursday on Russian firms for their support of North Korea's weapons programs.

Backing fresh sanctions on North Korea, Russia's deputy United Nations ambassador Vladimir Safronkov stressed in June that "the choice here has to be made in favor of using diplomatic tools to the maximum extent possible".

Mattis noted that last week the Pentagon conducted what it called a successful test of its missile defense system, which is being developed mainly with North Korea in mind.

"North Korea's attitude is feeding tensions in a region where we have major economic interest, and we do not want to see an arms race here", Goulard said.