A senior administration official said the UN Security Council will vote “in the coming days” on a US initiative to impose additional sanctions on North Korea over its resumption of ballistic missile launches. The sanctions would include a tobacco ban and cuts in oil exports. to Pyongyang and blacklisting the hacker group Lazarus.

North Korea launched three missiles, including one believed to be the largest intercontinental ballistic missile, the latest in a series of missile launches. This happened after US President Joe Biden completed a trip to Asia.

And the US State Department said: “US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken spoke with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts about the North Korean ballistic missile launch, and they “strongly condemned the North Korean ballistic missile launch,” calling it “egregious.” violation of many UN Security Council resolutions.” The rocket launch came just hours after US President Joe Biden left Japan after his first visit to Asia as president.