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On Tuesday, The U.S. House of Representatives voted almost unanimously to pass legislation that would broaden sanctions on North Korea. This bill comes after North Korea announced last Wednesday that they had successfully completed a hydrogen bomb nuclear test. The bill proposes stronger sanctions that would deny North Korea the money that it needs for developing nuclear warheads, long-range missiles, and for paying its army and police forces. It will also use financial and economic pressure to keep North Korea away from maintaining the assets that they hold in foreign banks.
The United States isn’t the only nation that is putting pressure on North Korea. South Korean President, Park Geun-hye, said in a press conference, "We are cooperating closely with the United States and allies to come up with effective sanctions that will make North Korea feel bone-numbing pain, not only at the Security Council but also bilaterally and multilaterally." China, North Korea's main ally and trade partner, has also made clear that it opposes North Korea’s nuclear development. The World Economic Forum also withdrew its invitation for North Korea's foreign minister to attend its annual meeting, attended by over 100 countries. It would have been the country's first participation in the event in 18 years.
Even after threats of economic sanctions, Kim Jong Un continues to say that North Korea will continue to expand its nuclear development. A positive sign for the rest of the world may be that experts from several countries believe the blast was not actually a Hydrogen bomb and that it was the size of a smaller nuclear weapon. North Korea's nuclear tests have angered both China and the United States and again raised questions about what can be done to stop its development of nuclear weapons.
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