WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Russia can help pressure North Korea on its nuclear program with sanctions and the United States is willing to explore other measures, a senior US Department of State official said on Thursday.
"They can be helpful as well, both to put pressure through sanctions and through the strict implementation of sanctions, but there may be other measures they can take, and we can explore some of those with the Russians," the official stated.
Since the beginning of 2016, North Korea carried out a number of missile launches and nuclear tests, prompting worldwide criticism, including from Beijing. As a result, the UN Security Council tightened the sanctions regime for North Korea in an attempt to force Pyongyang to stop ballistic missile launches and nuclear tests, including imposing a measure intended to affect the country’s trade, export of natural resources, arms trade and banking sector.