US proposes new sanctions against North Korea

The US has proposed a range of new sanctions against North Korea, including an oil ban and a freeze on leader Kim Jong-un's assets. It has drafted a UN resolution in response to Pyongyang's latest nuclear test, which will be considered by members of the UN Security Council. The draft calls for bans on supplying a range of oil products to North Korea and purchasing its textile exports.

Kim Jong-un would also have his assets frozen, and be banned from travelling.

The latest move to toughen measures against North Korea follows its latest test in a fast-advancing nuclear weapons programme. North Korea claims to have



produced a powerful hydrogen bomb small enough to fit on a long-range missile. Last month, North Korea launched a missile over populated regions of Japan.

It is not known if the latest demands from the US have the backing of either Russia or China, who have expressed scepticism over increasing sanctions. Both countries are suppliers of oil to North Korea, and both wield vetoes at the Security Council.

A further measure in the draft resolution would ban the recruitment of North Korean labourers abroad. Remittance from foreign earnings and textile exports are believed to be two of the country's most important remaining sources of income.