Missiles test: Trump commends UN over new sanctions on North Korea

US President, Mr. Donald Trump on Friday praised the UN Security Council for imposing new sanctions on North Korea in response to ballistic missile tests.

Trump, in a tweet said the vote proved the world “wants peace, not death”.

“The United Nations Security Council just voted 15-0 in favour of additional Sanctions on North Korea. The World wants Peace, not Death!” Mr Trump tweeted.

The United Nations Security Council just voted 15-0 in favor of additional Sanctions on North Korea. The World wants Peace, not Death!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 22, 2017

NEWSVERGE reports that US-drafted resolution which includes measures to slash North Korea’s petrol imports by up to 90%.

China and Russia, Pyongyang’s main trading partners, voted in favour of the resolution.

North Korea is already subject to a raft of sanctions from the US, the UN and the EU.

The US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, said the sanctions sent an “unambiguous message to Pyongyang that further defiance will invite further punishments and isolation”.

She described North Korea as “the most tragic example of evil in the modern world”.

UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said the latest measures against North Korea were a “vital step” towards curbing its nuclear weapons programme.

He said the international community had shown it was united in its condemnation of the North’s “reckless behaviour”.

The Chinese foreign ministry described the situation on the peninsula as “complex and sensitive” and called on all sides to “exercise restraint and make active efforts to ease tensions”.

It would be recalled that tensions have risen this year over North Korea’s nuclear and missile programmes, which it has pursued despite pressure from world powers.

The UN sanctions came in response to Pyongyang’s 28 November firing of a ballistic missile, which the US said was its highest yet.

President Donald Trump had previously threatened to “totally destroy” North Korea if it launches a nuclear attack. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has described the US president as “mentally deranged”.