U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power said Monday that the United States is exerting all its political influence in a bid to gain support from all U.N. Security Council members to adopt "the strongest possible resolution" to heighten pressure on North Korea to give up its nuclear arms and missile programs.
"With regard to Russia or any other country, we will exert all the political influence that we can on behalf of the strongest possible resolution," Power told reporters after talks with South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se.
Her remarks were made at a time of heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula as the U.N. Security Council is working on the adoption of a new resolution to punish North Korea for its fifth nuclear test, conducted last month in the face of global opposition.