GOP senators urge additional sanctions on North Korea following nuclear test

A coalition of Republican senators urged the president on Monday to enact immediate sanctions on North Korea in the wake of its latest nuclear weapons test.

This most recent incident was the fourth nuclear test since 2009 and the second this year.

“In the wake of this latest provocation from Pyongyang, we ask you to take immediate steps to expand U.S. sanctions against North Korea and those entities that assist the regime, most importantly China-based entities; expedite the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in South Korea; and take all feasible steps to facilitate a stronger trilateral alliance between the United States, Japan, and South Korea to more effectively counter the North Korean threat,” the legislators said in a letter.

The letter also said the president should pursue an additional United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) to impose additional multilateral sanctions against the North Korean regime.

The letter was cosigned by U.S. Sens. John Boozman (R-AR), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Steve Daines (R-MT), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Cory Gardner (R-CO), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Jerry Moran (R-KS), David Perdue (R-GA), James Risch (R-ID), Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Pat Roberts (R-KS), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Ben Sasse (R-NE), Richard Shelby (R-AL), Dan Sullivan (R-AK) and Roger Wicker (R-MS).