Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Hume for her question. Mr President, Australia supports the unanimous decision by the United Nations Security Council this morning to impose further sanctions on North Korea, following their claimed test of a hydrogen bomb earlier this month, with the adoption of UNSC resolution 2375. These are the types of sanctions imposed on the regime to date. Among the sanctions imposed, the resolution cuts off over 55 per cent of gas supplies, diesel and heavy fuel oil going to the regime. It completely bans natural gas and other oil by-products that could be used as substitutes. Today's resolution also bans all textile exports, which follows on from resolutions banning both coal and iron exports. There are also bans on the regime from making money from North Koreans working overseas and asset freezes on the most central North Korean regime entities.

These measures will make it far more difficult for the regime to be able to fuel and to finance its illegal ballistic and nuclear weapons program. However, it is our view, as we have stated, Mr President, that the sanctions won't be completely effective unless all nations implement them with absolute resolve. As I said in my remarks to the Seoul Defense Dialogue in South Korea last Thursday, we can't let North Korea's brinkmanship succeed. Australia will continue to encourage other nations to join in collective action to the fullest extent possible against North Korea's renewed threats of offensive action.