After Pyongyang’s Missile Test, Trump Mulls More Sanctions On North Korea

Washington: US President Donald Trump has said "additional major sanctions" will be imposed on North Korea, after Pyongyang on Wednesday carried out an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test.

The US President said on Twitter on Wednesday that he had spoken with Chinese President Xi Jinping about "the provocative actions of North Korea. Additional major sanctions will be imposed on North Korea today. This situation will be handled!" Trump offered no further details.

The announcement comes a few hours before an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council to analyse the situation, a session requested by the US, South Korea and Japan. However, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson suggested shortly after that that the sanctions could be unilaterally imposed by the US.

Tillerson said that the US has "a long list of additional potential sanctions, some of which involve potential financial institutions, and the Treasury Department will be announcing those when they're ready to roll those out."

The White House said in a statement about Trump's phone conversation with Xi that the US leader made clear "the determination of the United States to defend ourselves and our allies... (and) emphasized the need for China to use all available levers to convince North Korea to end its provocations and return to the path of denuclearization."

On early Wednesday, Pyongyang test-fired an ICBM that travelled around 1,000 km before plunging into the Sea of Japan. The North Korean regime said that its new ICBM -- the Hwasong-15 -- was successfully tested and that it is capable of carrying a large nuclear warhead and reaching any target within the continental US.

Before speaking with Xi, Trump spoke on phone with Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Moon Jae-in to discuss Pyongyang's latest missile test.

IANS