Security Council votes to impose limited sanctions on North Korea



The N. Korean ambassador walked out after he spoke.
UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously Saturday to impose limited sanctions on North Korea for its recent missile tests, and demanded that the reclusive communist nation suspend its ballistic missile program.
North Korea immediately rejected the resolution and vowed to continue missile launches.
U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said North Korea set "a world record" for a rejection -- 45 minutes -- and warned that Pyongyang's failure to comply could lead to further council action.
The resolution bans all U.N. member states from selling material or technology for missiles or weapons of mass destruction to North Korea, and from receiving missiles, banned weapons or technology from Pyongyang.
It condemns North Korea's multiple missile launches on July 5 and demands that North Korea "suspend all activities related to its ballistic missile program" and re-establish a moratorium on missile launches. It strongly urges North Korea to return to six-party talks on its nuclear program, which have been stalled since last September.
North Korea's U.N. Ambassador Pak Gil Yon, who was in the Security Council chamber for the vote in a rare appearance, accused the council of trying to isolate his country, known officially as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, or DPRK.
The Korean People's Army "will go on with missile launch exercises as part of its efforts to bolster deterrent for self-defense in the future, too," he said. He immediately left the council chamber at the end of his speech in a move considered a breach of diplomatic protocol.
The resolution adopted Saturday by a 15-0 vote states that the Security Council was "acting under its special responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security."
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