CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – U.S. Senator Bob Corker, R-Tenn., chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today said the U.N. Security Council’s strict enforcement of a new resolution targeting North Korea can be a catalyst for a tougher global stand against the growing nuclear and ballistic missile threat from the Kim regime. Last week, President Obama signed a bipartisan Senate bill into law that will expand and tighten enforcement of sanctions against North Korea.
“If strictly enforced, this resolution can be a catalyst for the United States and the world to begin taking a much tougher stand against the growing nuclear threat from North Korea,” said Corker. “For the Obama administration, the next step must be fully implementing the bipartisan Senate bill that will punish North Korea for a range of illicit behavior, toughen enforcement of sanctions, and put forward strategies to improve human rights and stop cyberattacks. China, for its part, wants to be taken seriously on the world stage, so now is an opportunity to show it by using its considerable economic and other leverage to hold North Korea accountable.”
On February 10, the Senate passed the North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act of 2016 in a unanimous vote of 96 to 0 following a day of legislative floor action led by Sen. Corker. For more information about the bill, which was developed by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, visit: http://1.usa.gov/1R5iKW9.
North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test in January and launched a ballistic missile this month in violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions. In recent testimony before Congress, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper confirmed North Korea’s progress in expanding production of weapons-grade nuclear fuel.
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