US Vice President Joe Biden said the United States would enforce sanctions set in the 1874 UN Security Council Resolution on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), NBC networks reported on Sunday.
The United States will enforce the resolution, said Biden in an interview with NBC's "Meet the Press", adding "It is important that we make sure those sanctions stick and those sanctions prohibit them from exporting or importing weapons."
The resolution, which was unanimously approved by the 15-memberbody, condemns Pyongyang's recent nuclear and missile tests and includes provisions for inspecting cargo coming out of the DPRK, a total ban on weapons exports from the country and stronger financial sanctions.
The vice president dismissed the latest threat by the DPRK, adding that keeping the pressure on Pyongyang is necessary for the Northeast Asia' security and stability.
"We can't guess (the DPRK leader Kim Jong Il's) motivations; we just have to deal with the reality that a North Korea that is either proliferating weapons and or missiles, or a North Korea that is using those weapons," said Biden.
Responding to the UN resolution, Pyongyang vowed to start enriching uranium to make more nuclear weapons, and to "weaponize" all the plutonium it could extract from used fuel rods at the Yongbyon nuclear plant.
US Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice on Friday, just after the UN Security Council approved the resolution, warned that it would not be a surprise if Pyongyang reacted to the resolution with further provocative actions "based on past experience and a pattern that North Korea has of reckless and dangerous actions."
As to the threat, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Saturday that the United States would "do all we can to prevent continued proliferation by the North Koreans."
"The North Koreans' continuing provocative actions are deeply regrettable," said the top US diplomat, adding "They have now been denounced by everyone. They have become further isolated."
On May 25, the DPRK announced it has "successfully conducted one more underground nuclear test," which Pyongyang said has demonstrated "self-defensive nuclear deterrent." Following the test, it also fired some short-range missiles.
Reports here quoted intelligence officials as saying that the DPRK has moved a long-range ballistic missile, which could be a version of the Taepodong-2, to a west coast launch site in preparation for a possible test launch within days.
(Xinhua News Agency June 15, 2009)
