UN, June 3. /TASS/. The UN Security Council has unanimously passed a resolution to expand sanctions against North Korea.

Russia’s deputy UN envoy Vladimir Safronkov said after the vote that although Russia supported the UN Security Council resolution 2356, imposing international sanctions on several organizations and individuals who may be contributing to North Korea’s weapons programs, Moscow still believes that further confrontation may have serious consequences for the region.

"It is important to keep searching for a political solution," he said. "Some of our partners say they are ready to resume contacts with Pyongyang, but on certain conditions."

"The logic of confrontation may have serious consequences for the Korean Peninsula. The crisis situation on the Korean Peninsula necessitates the resumption of collective work, and Russia is ready for it," the diplomat added.

China’s UN envoy, Liu Jieyi, said after the vote that the crisis may be settled if North Korea winds down its nuclear program while the United States and South Korea simultaneously end their bilateral military exercises in the region.

"At the same time, efforts to maintain peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula are of utmost importance. We need to simultaneously take the paths of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula and of creating the mechanism for peaceful settlement," he said.

The UN Security Council’s resolutions ban any activity of North Korea linked to developing nuclear weapons and means of its delivery, but Pyongyang does not recognize these documents, stressing that the country has the right to enhance its defence capacity amid Washington’s hostile policy. This year, North Korea test-fired at least nine missiles, with the latest launch taking place on May 29.

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula intensified in early 2016 when North Korea conducted a nuclear test and after that launched a ballistic missile carrying a satellite. In September 2016, Pyongyang carried out another nuclear test, while more than 20 missiles were test-fired during the year.