Summary The UN is set to move a resolution tightening international sanctions against North Korea.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Lawmakers are pushing for tougher US financial restrictions on North Korea even as the UN Security Council moved closer Tuesday to a new resolution tightening international sanctions in response to Pyongyang s latest nuclear test.
The US has reached agreement with China on a draft resolution that will be presented to the council on Tuesday, UN diplomats said late Monday. The agreement follows three weeks of deliberations on how to respond to North Korea s third atomic test.
It s a sign of Beijing s disapproval of its troublesome ally s behavior and will be welcomed in Washington. The text of the resolution has not been made public, but there has been speculation the UN s most powerful body could move to toughen financial restrictions and cargo inspections, as well as blacklisting more companies and individuals.
Earlier Tuesday, North Korea s military vowed to cancel the 1953 Korean War cease-fire, saying Washington and others are going beyond mere economic sanctions and expanding into blunt aggression and military acts.
The Korean People s Army Supreme Command also warned that it will block a communications line at the border village separating the two Koreas.
This week, the foreign affairs panels of both houses of Congress will consider the Obama administration s next policy options to impede Pyongyang s development of missiles and nuclear weapons that are increasingly viewed as a direct threat to the United States.
On Tuesday, the Republican-led House of Representatives foreign affairs panel will examine how criminal activities support North Korea s authoritarian regime. That could buttress the case for leveraging the vast reach of the US financial system to pressure international banks that deal with the North.
