US senator calls for economic sanctions on NK
TOKYO (AP) – The Latest on the nuclear test North Korea conducted Sunday – its sixth and largest so far (all times local):
12:10 a.m.
North Korea’s neighbors are looking for radiation from its nuclear test, but they might not find any.
The North said the underground test site where it detonated what it described as a hydrogen bomb did not leak radioactive materials. If that’s true, it will be difficult for outsiders to determine whether the device was indeed a thermonuclear weapon or a simpler nuclear bomb.
Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority says no abnormal change in radiation levels had been detected on monitoring posts across the country as of Sunday night.
China’s National Nuclear Safety Administration says it activated nuclear radiation-related environmental contingency plans shortly after the test was conducted. It said in a statement on its website that automatic environmental radiation monitoring stations in China’s northeast were operating normally.
11:40 p.m.
Sen. Ted Cruz says North Korea’s nuclear test calls for serious steps to prevent it from using those weapons, including economic sanctions.
Speaking Sunday on ABC’s “This Week,” Cruz said the U.S. should “use economic leverage to go against not only North Korea but every financial institution, every company that does business with North Korea.” He said most of them rely on the U.S. financial system, “so cutting off their money is another critical part” to putting pressure on Pyongyang.
The Texas Republican, a member of the Armed Services Committee, also called for enhancing missile defense to give the U.S. the capability to destroy an ICBM fired from North Korea.
He said President Donald Trump was right to talk tough with the North Korean leader, who he said only understands and respects strength.
___
11 p.m.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says he is putting together new sanctions seeking to cut off trade with North Korea after it detonated a thermonuclear device in its sixth and most powerful nuclear test.
Speaking on “Fox News Sunday,” Mnuchin described Pyongyang’s behavior as “completely unacceptable.”
Mnuchin says the sanctions package being drafted for President Donald Trump’s consideration will make clear that if countries want to do business with the U.S., they will have to cut off North Korea economically.
Mnuchin says the U.S. is continuing to work with allies and China to exert pressure on North Korea.
___
10:45 p.m.
The office of German Chancellor Angela Merkel says North Korea’s provocations have “reached a new dimension” with the nation’s sixth nuclear test.
Merkel spoke on the phone Sunday with French president Emmanuel Macron. Her office says both leaders “condemn North Korea’s new nuclear tests in the sharpest possible terms” and that “the latest provocation by the rulers in Pyongyang has reached a new dimension.”
Macron’s office said he, Merkel and Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni agree on the need for a “strong international reaction” against North Korea, including new sanctions from the European Union.
___
10:25 p.m.
The White House says President Donald Trump and his national security team plan a meeting later Sunday to discuss North Korea, in the wake of the North’s announcement that it has conducted its most powerful nuclear test to date.
The White House says the president’s team is “monitoring this closely.”
Trump has reacted to the test by calling North Korea “a rogue nation” whose “words and actions continue to be very hostile and dangerous to the United States.”
___
9:25 p.m.
Britain and Italy are among the many nations condemning North Korea over its sixth nuclear test Sunday.
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson called the test “reckless” in a statement and said “all options are on the table.”
Italian Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano said in a statement that North Korea must immediately abandon its nuclear and missile development program.
He also urged the North Koreans to stop going down the path of increasing self-isolation. Alfano pledged that Italy would do its part to at achieve a “firm and cohesive response” by the international community to North Korea’s latest challenge.
___
9:20 p.m.
The European Union’s foreign policy chief says North Korea’s sixth nuclear test represents a “major provocation” and “a grave threat to regional and international security.”
Federica Mogherini also said in a statement that Pyongyang “must abandon its nuclear, weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner and immediately cease all related activities.”
Mogherini said she will meet Monday with Yukiya Amano, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, to discuss North Korea.
North Korea’s nuclear test Sunday was apparently its most powerful yet. The country’s state-controlled media say it was a thermonuclear device and a “perfect success.”
(Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
