The United States could consider new sanctions against North Korea if it goes ahead with plans to launch a long-range missile, US ambassador to Japan Thomas Schieffer said on Monday.
Schieffer said that a test by the communist state would be a ”very, very serious matter” that could be brought before the United Nations Security Council.
”I think sanctions would have to be considered but I wouldn’t want to describe what actions we might take,” Schieffer told Japanese reporters, as quoted by a US embassy official.
Japanese and US officials say they have seen signs that North Korea is preparing for a long-range missile test, with media reports indicating it could be imminent.
North Korea, which said last year it had nuclear weapons, has boycotted six-nation nuclear disarmament talks since November in protest at a set of US financial sanctions targeting a Macau-based bank linked to Pyongyang.
Those sanctions, which are believed to hit the impoverished state hard, were imposed over US allegations that North Korea has engaged in money laundering and counterfeiting. — AFP
