Meeting at UN headquarters in New York on Thursday, all 15 members of the Security Council said yes to stronger sanctions against North Korea for its third nuclear test last month.
The fresh list of sanctions - dubbed Resolution 2094 - ensures stricter financial restrictions on Pyongyang and tightened inspections of suspicious land, sea or air cargo departing from or heading to the communist state.
It also promises to take further significant measures in the event of further provocations by the North.
Following the meeting, UN officials called on North Korea to end its nuclear ambitions, for its own good.

"North Korea will achieve nothing by continued threats and provocations. These will only further isolate the country and its people and undermine international efforts to promote peace and stability in Northeast Asia."

"North Korea must wake up from its delusion of becoming a nuclear state, nuclear weapons state, and make the right choice."

China, North Korea's closest ally, gave its full support to the resolution and said it wants to see the sanctions fully implemented.

"The top priority now is to defuse tension, bring down the heat, focus on a diplomatic track and bring the situation back on the track of diplomacy."

Council diplomats say the resolution is intended to bring the sanctions against North Korea more in line with measures slapped on Iran, which they say were surprisingly effective in slowing down its nuclear program.
They hoped to see the latest resolution, the fourth of its kind, to contribute in leading Pyongyang in the right direction.

"We hope that the DPRK is going to reverse its course, is that it's going to comply strictly with the terms of the Security Council resolutions. And that, in our view, should open the way for dialogue and negotiations in order to achieve greater security for the DPRK and political resolution of the problem."

Experts say the effectiveness of the new resolution lies in the hands of Beijing, as it has often extended a helping hand to the North when it was shut out by the international community in the past.
Hwang Sung-hee, Arirang News.

Reporter : ssung86@arirang.co.kr