With the U.N. Security Council adopting a new sanctions resolution Monday on North Korea in response to its sixth and most powerful nuclear test, the United States is expected to consider expanding sanctions on entities in China and elsewhere that facilitate Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs.
While President Donald Trump's administration does not rule out military options in dealing with the threat posed by North Korea, a U.S. pre-emptive strike is an unlikely scenario in addressing the nuclear standoff, according to security experts.
Given the faster-than-expected progress in North Korea's development of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, members of Congress and experts on North Korea have called for applying maximum pressure on Pyongyang without waiting for approval or cooperation from China and Russia — two countries that blocked the U.S. bid to include an oil embargo on Pyongyang in the latest U.N. sanctions.