Outgoing US Vice President Joe Biden has called for full implementation of sanctions on North Korea, warning the communist nation will pose one of the most significant challenges the next administration will face.

"As North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities continue to expand, it poses a growing threat to international security and our own national defense," Biden said during an event at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington on Wednesday, according to a White House transcript.

Biden said the US has worked hard to raise costs for the North, leading efforts to adopt two UN Security Council resolutions "imposing the most far-reaching and comprehensive sanctions on North Korea to date."

"We need to ensure that these sanctions are enforced by all to ensure North Korea understands that we will continue to impose costs for their illegal behavior," Biden said. "North Korea's growing capability is one of the most significant challenges the next administration will face. There are no simple solutions."

He said that the US work together with allies to send a clear message to Pyongyang that attempts at coercion or intimidation will fail and that security and international respect cannot be attained through illegal weapons.

"As long as that is the choice North Korea's leaders continue to make, their country will remain economically isolated and an international pariah," Biden said. "We must continue working closely with the international community, including China, to convince North Korea to reverse course." (Yonhap)