UNITED NATIONS, March 7: The UN Security Council voted on Thursday to tighten financial restrictions on Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and crackdown on its attempts to ship and receive banned cargo in violations of UN sanctions.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, a former South Korean foreign minister, said the resolution “sent an unequivocal message to (North Korea) that the international community will not tolerate its pursuit of nuclear weapons.”

The vote was passed unanimously by the 15 members of the Security Council, including China, the North's one major diplomatic ally.

China’s ambassador to the UN Li Baodong said China hoped to see the resumption of diplomacy to try to reduce tensions.

South Korea’s envoy Kim Sook said North Korea choosing the wrong path could lead to its “self-destruction."

Susan Rice, the US ambassador to the United Nations, said that the “entire world stands united in our commitment to the de-nuclearisation of the Korean peninsula and in our demand that North Korea complies with its international obligations.”