The United Nations Security Council voted unanimously to punish the North Korean government with further economic sanctions Saturday.
The economic sanctions were in retaliation for the defiant regime's pattern of testing intercontinental ballistic missiles in spite of international scorn. The dictatorship warns that they have now developed weapons that can reach portions of the United States.
The draft resolution was written by the United States and sent to the 15 member nations of the security council, who unanimously voted to increase sanctions. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley praised the vote of China in favor of the sanctions.
On Wednesday President Trump reluctantly signed a bill passed overwhelmingly by Congress to strengthen U.S. sanctions on Russia, Iran and North Korea. He had previously lamented that easing trade restrictions with China had not resulted in any results with the Korean regime, something he promised during the presidential campaign in 2016.
The Saturday prior to this vote, Ambassador Haley signaled in a tweet her frustration with China's failure to dissuade North Korea from their belligerence.
"Done talking about [North Korea]," she tweeted in Twitter shorthand. "China is aware they must act."
Done talking about NKorea.China is aware they must act.Japan & SKorea must inc pressure.Not only a US problem.It will req an intl solution.— Archive: Ambassador Nikki Haley (@Archive: Ambassador Nikki Haley) 1501430379.0
"Japan [and South Korea] must [increase] pressure," she added. "Not only a US problem. It will [require] an [international] solution."