The United States Senate has voted on Wednesday for a legislation that will broaden and make the sanctions against North Korea tougher. This has been made amid worries regarding the country's nuclear program, human rights abuses and cyber activities.
According to USA Today the legislation called "North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act" had a 96-0 vote. Senate Democrats say that President Barack Obama is expected to sign the measure into law.
North Korea has been carrying out recent nuclear and ballistic missile tests aside from the cybersecurity attacks and human rights abuses. CNN reported that GOP presidential hopeful Ted Cruz of Texas stepped out from his campaign trail to vote for the national security issue.
In a statement issued by Cruz, he said, "The national security threat from North Korea is serious and growing and we need strong national leadership to keep this country safe. Under President Obama, our enemies continue to get stronger."
The legislation that was passed has been compared to that of the sanctions against Iran made by the Congress. Iran has since been negotiating with the U.S. regarding their nuclear weapons program. The newly-passed legislation also requires Obama to investigate North Korea's conduct regarding proliferation of weapons of mass destruction amongst the aforementioned activities that the country has been carrying out as of late.
Aside from the U.S., China, North Korea's biggest sponsor, agreed to back a resolution that will condemn the nuclear activities of the country. However, no other steps have been suggested by China, The Washington Post reported.
The House of Representatives passed a similar bill in January and since the new legislation passed to the House by the Senate, the differences between the two legislations will have to be settled before sending it to Obama.
