Senate Passes Bill to Hit North Korea With Harsher Sanctions

Seeking to derail North Korea’s drive for nuclear weapons, Republican and Democratic senators set aside their partisan differences Wednesday to unanimously pass legislation aimed at starving Pyongyang of the money it needs to build an atomic arsenal.

A South Korean man watches a TV news program with a file footage about North Korea's rocket launch at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, on Feb. 7, 2016. Ahn Young-joon/AP

WASHINGTON—Seeking to derail North Korea’s drive for nuclear weapons, Republican and Democratic senators set aside their partisan differences Wednesday to unanimously pass legislation aimed at starving Pyongyang of the money it needs to build an atomic arsenal.

The Senate approved the sanctions bill 96-0 after lawmakers repeatedly denounced Pyongyang for flouting international law by pursuing nuclear weapons.

Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) said for too long North Korea has been dismissed as a strange country run by irrational leaders. “It’s time to take North Korea seriously,” Menendez said.

It's time to take North Korea seriously.

— Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.)