North Korea handed toughest sanctions in 20 years in effort to stop nuke programme

NORTH Korea has been hit with the toughest sanctions in 20 years by the United Nations (UN) in response to making a nuclear test.

In a series of new restrictions negotiated by the Chinese and American governments, all cargo going to and from North Korea must be inspected and North Korean trade representatives in Syria, Iran and Vietnam are among 16 individuals added to a UN blacklist, along with 12 North Korean organisations.

Previously, states only had to inspect North Korean cargo shipments if they had reasonable grounds to believe they contained illicit goods.

US President Barack Obama said the resolution sent the North Korean government a “simple message”.

He said: “North Korea must abandon these dangerous programs and choose a better path for its people.”

American ambassador to the UN, Samantha Power, said the sanctions were the strongest yet.

She said: "Virtually all of the DPRK's (North Korea) resources are channeled into its reckless and relentless pursuit of weapons of mass destruction.”

After nearly two months of bilateral negotiations that at one point involved Mr Obama and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, China agreed to support the unusually tough measures intended to persuade its close ally to abandon its atomic weapons program.

North Korea has been under UN sanctions since 2006 because of its four nuclear tests and multiple rocket launches.

The sanctions came in response to its recent nuclear test and February 7 rocket launch that Washington and its allies said used banned ballistic missile technology. Pyongyang said it was a peaceful satellite launch.

The list of explicitly banned luxury goods has been expanded to include luxury watches, aquatic recreational vehicles, snowmobiles worth more than £1,400, lead crystal items and recreational sports equipment.

The official North Korean news agency KCNA said on Monday the proposed sanctions were "a wanton infringement on (North Korea's) sovereignty and grave challenge to it."

The proposal closes a gap in the UN arms embargo on Pyongyang by banning all weapons imports and exports.

There is also an unprecedented ban on the transfer to North Korea of any item that could directly contribute to the operational capabilities of its armed forces, such as trucks that could be modified for military purposes.

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