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A UN draft resolution aimed at tightening sanctions on North Korea would require that countries take the unprecedented step of inspecting all cargo to and from the country, the American Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power said Thursday.

"For the first time in history, all cargo going in and out of the DPRK would be subjected to mandatory inspection," Power told reporters after presenting the measure to the UN Security Council, according to the AFP news agency.

The resolution drafted by the United States would also bar North Korean vessels suspected of carrying illegal goods from ports worldwide and tighten an arms embargo to ban supplies of small arms.

It also provides for a ban on exports of coal, iron, gold, titanium and rare earth minerals from North Korea and imposes a ban on the supply of aviation fuel including rocket fuel.

"These sanctions if adopted would send an unambiguous and unyielding message to the DPRK regime: The world will not accept your proliferation. There will be consequences for your actions," said Power, according to AFP.

The draft text was presented to the 15-member council after the United States and China, Pyongyang's sole ally, agreed on the package of measures, capping seven weeks of tough negotiations.

The new resolution follows a series of tests by North Korea in violations of previous UN resolutions. On January 6, Pyongyang carried out a nuclear test in which it claimed to have fired a hydrogen bomb.

Weeks later, it launched a long-range rocket carrying what it called a satellite, prompting renewed criticism and resulting in new American sanctions.

The UN Security Council decided to impose new measures on North Korea after it carried out the two tests.

But Washington is now seeking to impose even more sanctions on the isolated regime of Kim Jong-un, despite reports that before the last nuclear test, the United States sought a peace treaty with North Korea.