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This undated file photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency in October shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un at a military parade. The man pictured at his left has been identified by South Korea media as Ri Yong-Gil, chief of the Korean People's Army, who was reported by the South Korean media on Feb. 10, 2016 as having been executed.(Photo: KNS, AFP/Getty Images)
The U.S. Senate unanimously passed tough new sanctions against North Korea on Wednesday for its flagrant violations of international law, particularly<span style="color: Red;">*</span>regarding the testing of nuclear weapons and missile technology.
The bipartisan bill, called the North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act, was adopted by a vote of 96-0. The House passed similar legislation last<span style="color: Red;">*</span>month.
The measure targets North Korea’s ability to access the money it needs for developing miniaturized nuclear warheads and the long-range missiles to<span style="color: Red;">*</span>deliver them.
In Japan, officials said<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Tokyo will also impose new sanctions against North Korea.
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The Senate legislation follows Pyongyang’s recent satellite launch and technical advances that U.S. intelligence agencies say is aimed at developing an<span style="color: Red;">*</span>intercontinental ballistic missile tipped with a nuclear warhead. Pyongyang says it is merely developing a peaceful satellite capability.
In the annual assessment of global threats delivered to Congress on Tuesday, Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper said North Korea has<span style="color: Red;">*</span>expanded a uranium enrichment facility and restarted a plutonium reactor that could start recovering material for nuclear weapons in weeks or months.
Before Wednesday's vote, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the Senate had an opportunity to hold Pyongyang accountable for its growing aggression.
Minority Leader Harry Reid said it would send a message to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that "his reckless behavior will not go unanswered."
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In the latest development inside the reclusive Asian nation, North Korea has executed<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the chief of North Korea's military on corruption and other<span style="color: Red;">*</span>charges, the South Korean Yonghap News Agency reported Wednesday.
Army Gen. Ri Yong-gil, chief of the Korean People's Army General Staff, also faced charges of pursuing personal gain, the news agency reported. A source<span style="color: Red;">*</span>also confirmed the execution to Reuters.
Yonhap reported that Ri was executed last week as Kim presided over a joint meeting of the North's ruling Workers' Party and<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the military.
Up until last month, Ri — who served as the chief of the General Staff for almost three years — accompanied Kim on a series of inspection trips to<span style="color: Red;">*</span>military exercises and to the Ministry of the People's Armed Forces. He was absent at a joint meeting of the party and military, Yonhap reported.
Ri was not listed in attendance at events in Pyongyang celebrating the controversial satellite launch Sunday. A report on the event in the North's Rodong<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Sinmun newspaper did not mention Ri and listed Gen. Ri Myong-su in his place.
A picture released by the Rodong Sinmun, the newspaper of the ruling North Korean Workers Party, on Sept. 8, 2015, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center front, and Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez, second from right, a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and first vice-president of the Council of State, watching an art performance by the Moranbong Band and the State Merited Chorus in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Sept. 7, 2015. Bermudez led a Cuban delegation to North Korea to mark the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between North Korea and Cuba. <span style="color: Red;">*</span> Rodong Sinmun, European Pressphoto Agency
Men and women pump their fists in the air and chant "defend!" as they carry propaganda slogans calling for reunification of their country during the "Pyongyang Mass Rally on the Day of the Struggle Against the U.S.," attended by approximately 100,000 North Koreans to mark the 65th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War at the Kim Il Sung stadium, Thursday, June 25, 2015, in Pyongyang, North Korea. The month of June in North Korea is known as the "Struggle Against U.S. Imperialism Month" and it's a time for North Koreans to swarm to war museums, mobilize for gatherings denouncing the evils of the United States and join in a general, nationwide whipping up of the anti-American sentiment.<span style="color: Red;">*</span> Wong Maye-E, AP
North Koreans gather in front of a portrait of their late leader Kim Il Sung, left, and Kim Jong Il, right, paying respects to their late leader Kim Jong Il, to mark the third anniversary of his death, Wednesday Dec. 17 at Pyong Chon District in Pyongyang, North Korea. North Korea marked the end of a three-year mourning period for the late leader Kim Jong Il on Wednesday, opening the way for his son, Kim Jong Un, to put a more personal stamp on the way the country is run. <span style="color: Red;">*</span> Kim Kwang Hyon, AP
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