South Korea urges ‘extraordinary’ new sanctions on North Korea

South Korean army soldiers close a gate in Paju, near the border with North Korea, South Korea, Monday, Feb. 8, 2016. The UN Security Council condemned North Korea’s launch of a long-range rocket that world leaders called a banned test of ballistic missile technology and another “intolerable provocation.” The UN’s most powerful body pledged to quickly adopt a new resolution with “significant” new sanctions. AP

UNITED NATIONS — South Korea’s UN ambassador is urging the UN Security Council to adopt “extraordinary” measures in response to North Korea’s recent nuclear test and rocket launch to avoid falling prey to its “nuclear blackmail.”

Ambassador Oh Joon urged council members late Monday to approve “a robust and comprehensive” sanctions resolution to make clear to the North “that it will no longer tolerate its nuclear weapons development.”

READ: US Senate votes for expanded sanctions on North Korea

This year Pyongyang has conducted a nuclear test and launched a satellite on a rocket condemned by much of the world as a test of banned missile technology.

The ambassador called the test and launch “a clear threat to international peace and security and a blatant challenge to the international community.”

The United States and China have been negotiating the text of a new sanctions resolution.

READ: North Korea launches space rocket; defies threats