Japan and the US officially tabled a strengthened draft UN resolution calling for sanctions on North Korea’s weapons programme, following Pyongyang’s missile tests this week. China, however, warned it would not support the move.

The new text demanded an end to North Korean missile development, and called for countries to “take those steps necessary” to prevent the procurement from or transfer to North Korea of any “missile or missile related items, materials, goods and technology”, as well as the “transfer of any financial resources to end users involved in or supplying DPRK’s (North Korea’s) missile or WMD programmes”.