UN Security Council approves new resolution on North Korea

The United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution on Wednesday that imposes new sanctions on North Korea in order to curb the country's nuclear and missile programmes.

The resolution was unanimously adopted by the 15 members of the council in response to Pyongyang's nuclear test on January 6 and a satellite launch on February 7, Xinhua reported.

In the statement, the council condemned in the strongest terms the nuclear test on January 6 and the satellite launch on February 7, which it said used ballistic missile technology banned by previous UN resolutions. Pyongyang insisted it was a peaceful satellite launch.

The council reiterated its demands that the Pyongyang abandon all nuclear weapons and other nuclear programmes as well as weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programmes.

Wednesday's resolution includes a ban on all exports from North Korea of coal, iron, iron ore, gold, titanium ore, vanadium ore and rare earth metals. It also places a prohibition on supply of all types of aviation fuel, including rocket fuel, to the the country.

Reiterating "the importance of maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in northeast Asia at large,", the resolution expresses the council's commitment to a peaceful, diplomatic and political solution to the situation.

The resolution also calls for the resumption of the six-party talks, a multilateral dialogue mechanism brokered by China in efforts to seek a peaceful solution to the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula. It also involves the US, Russia and Japan, as well as the two sides on the Korean Peninsula.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday welcomed the Security Council's move, saying the Pyongyang "must return to full compliance with its international obligations."

US President Barack Obama also welcomed the UN resolution , calling it "a firm, united, and appropriate response by the international community" to halt Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programmes.

The sanctions in Wednesday's resolution represent the fifth round of sanctions imposed against Pyongyang since 2006.

North Korea conducted three nuclear tests in 2006, 2009 and 2013, respectively. Right after Pyongyang's first nuclear test, the Security Council adopted a resolution to impose sanctions on the Pyongyang and set up a sanctions committee.

In response to the nuclear tests conducted in 2009 and 2013, the council adopted another three resolutions to strengthen various sanctions on Pyongyang, which include an arms embargo, an embargo related to nuclear ballistic missile, and a ban on the export of luxury goods.