WASHINGTON -- Sanctions against North Korea could be tightened by cutting off its oil supply and interdicting vessels transporting goods to and from the country, a senior South Korean government official said Wednesday.
Those are the two main options that remain in the wake of North Korea's latest long-range missile launch Tuesday, the official told reporters on condition of anonymity.
"I think the US is figuring out how to let that play out," he said on a visit to Washington. "I can't tell you whether the US wants to unilaterally use maritime interdictions or include them in a new UN Security Council resolution because I think they're still thinking about it."
North Korea has come under growing sanctions for its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, including a ban on exports of iron, lead and other key sources of revenue.
Still, the communist regime has accelerated its pursuit of a nuclear-tipped missile capable of reaching the US mainland and claimed success with its test Tuesday of an intercontinental ballistic missile.