North Korea said its Sept. 3 test was of an advanced hydrogen bomb
and it was its most powerful nuclear blast by far. It has also tested a
missile capable of reaching the United States, but experts say it is
likely to be at least a year before it can field an operational nuclear
missile that could threaten America.

U.S. President Donald Trump issued another undisguised threat to
irritant North Korea on Tuesday dismissing the latest U.N. sanctions as
only a very small step and nothing compared to what would have to happen
to deal with the country’s nuclear program.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin warned China that if it did
not follow through on the new sanctions, the United States would “put additional sanctions on them and prevent them from accessing the U.S. and international dollar system.”
Another senior administration official told Reuters any such
“secondary sanctions” on Chinese banks and other companies were on hold
for now to give China time to show it was prepared to fully enforce the
latest and previous rounds of sanctions.
The U.N. Security Council voted to boost sanctions on North Korea
on Monday, banning its textile exports and capping fuel supplies,
prompting a traditionally defiant threat of retaliation against the
United States.
The U.N. move was triggered by the North’s sixth and largest
nuclear test this month. It was the ninth such resolution unanimously
adopted by the 15-member Security Council over North Korea’s ballistic
missile and nuclear programs since 2006. A tougher initial U.S. draft
was weakened to win the support of China, Pyongyang’s main ally and
trading partner, and Russia, both of which hold U.N. veto power.
Significantly, it stopped short of imposing a full embargo on oil exports to North Korea, most of which come from China. “We think it’s just another very small step, not a big deal,”
Trump told reporters at the start of a meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.
”I don’t know if it has any impact, but certainly it was nice to get a
15-to-nothing vote, but those sanctions are nothing compared to what
ultimately will have to happen,” said Trump, who has vowed not to allow North Korea to develop a nuclear missile capable of hitting the United States.
Asked if Trump was considering other actions, including cutting off
Chinese banks from the U.S. financial system, White House spokeswoman
Sarah Sanders said: “All options are on the table. The president has
also said that he wants every country involved to step up and do more.
This was a small step in that process, and we’re hoping that they’ll all
take a greater role and a more active role in putting pressure on North
Korea.”
Washington so far has mostly held off on new sanctions against
Chinese banks and other companies doing business with North Korea, given
fears of retaliation by Beijing and possibly far-reaching effects on
the world economy.
Trump is likely to make a stop in China in November during his
first official visit to Asia. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson held
talks in Washington on Tuesday with China’s top diplomat, State
Councilor Yang Jiechi, at which details of the trip were expected to
discussed.
The U.S. president has wavered between criticizing China for not
doing enough on North Korea to heaping personal praise on the Chinese
President Xi Jinping.
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