The United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted the toughest-ever sanctions on North Korea in response to its nuclear and missile provocations on Wednesday.

The 15-member council at the UN headquarters in New York passed Resolution 2270 in an attempt to curb cash flowing into North Korea to support its development of weapons of mass destruction,following Pyongyang’s fourth nuclear test on Jan. 6 and subsequent long-range missile test on Feb. 7.

This rsolution would for the first time subject all cargo going in and out of North Korea to mandatory inspection.

A prohibition would be set on the sale and transfer of small arms and other conventional weapons to and from Pyongyang, and North Korean diplomats engaging in illicit activities would be expelled from the country.

It also limits aviation and rocket fuel exports into North Korea.

The resolution blacklisted 16 North Korean individuals and 12 entities linked to its nuclear weapons development program.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power at a meeting of the council called the resolution “robust” and said that it “goes further than any sanctions regime in two decades," including the previous four UNSC resolutions.

The South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs immediately “welcomed” the resolution in a statement, while U.S. President Barack Obama said it sends “a firm, united, and appropriate response by the international community” to Pyongyang.


BY SARAH KIM