AMN /

ObamaUnited States President Barack Obama has signed off on new sanctions against North Korea to punish the reclusive Asian nation for its provocative recent nuclear test and rocket launch.

The White House said Mr Obama yesterday signed measures passed by the Congress, tightening sanctions on anyone importing goods or technology related to weapons of mass destruction into North Korea, or anyone who knowingly engaged in human rights abuses. Pyongyang shocked the world last month and earned a global rebuke when it announced it had successfully tested a hydrogen bomb.