The measure, which now must be reconciled with a similar House version that passed last month, would slap sanctions on any person or entity importing goods, technology or training related to weapons of mass destruction, or engaging in human rights abuses, US lawmakers said.
It also heaps additional financial pressure on the already sanctioned regime of leader Kim Jong-un by aiming at cutting down on money laundering and narcotics trafficking, two major illicit activities believed to be funneling millions of dollars into Kim’s inner circle, AFP reported.
Pyongyang shocked the world last month and earned a global rebuke when it announced it had successfully tested a hydrogen bomb.
On Sunday, it defiantly launched a satellite-bearing rocket, a move the west sees as a cover for a ballistic missile test in violation of UN Security Council resolutions.
North Korea is already subject to a range of international and US sanctions, adopted after its three previous nuclear tests, in 2006, 2009 and 2013.