Rex Tillerson, the US secretary of state, said Washington was moving closer to placing sanctions on countries that did not clamp down on North Korea as the Trump administration tries to boost pressure on Pyongyang to abandon its missile and nuclear programmes.
Mr Tillerson said the Trump administration had been urging nations to enforce existing UN sanctions, but was approaching the point where it would have to determine whether it needed to place what are referred to as “secondary sanctions” on countries not complying with the UN measures.
North Korea has emerged as the US’s most serious foreign policy challenge since President Donald Trump assumed office in January. The White House has taken a harder line than the preceding Obama administration, particularly with Pyongyang’s ally China, urging Beijing to cut off the regime of Kim Jong Un.