N. Korea sanctions' implementation more important than sanctions themselves: ambassador

South Korea and the United States will maintain close cooperation to implement new sanctions on North Korea as their enforcement is more important than the sanctions themselves, Seoul's top envoy to Washington said Wednesday.

Amb. Ahn Ho-young hailed Congress' passage of a sanctions bill targeting Pyongyang, saying it reflects the American people's strong support for the South Korea-U.S. alliance.

He noted, however, that implementation will be key.

"In the end, however strong the (U.N. Security Council Resolution) 2270 and however good the North Korea sanctions bill, in a way, the process of their implementation is far more important than the resolution or the bill's passage," Ahn said in a group interview with local reporters.

"That process remains. And we will continue to maintain the necessary cooperation between South Korea and the U.S."

Last month, the North Korea Sanctions Enforcement Act of 2016 passed both the Senate and the House with near-unanimous approval in a demonstration of bipartisan support for a tough response to North Korea's fourth nuclear test on Jan. 6 and long-range rocket launch on Feb. 7.

The legislation calls for the mandatory blacklisting of those assisting Pyongyang with its nuclear and missile programs, human rights abuses, cyberattacks and other crimes.

It is the first sanctions legislation exclusively targeting North Korea to pass both the House and the Senate.

"The South Korea-U.S. alliance is a very important element of our national security, but it needs the widespread support of Congress and the American people, not just the administration's policies," Ahn said. "North Korea sanctions bills have been introduced many times in the U.S. Congress in the past, but they failed to pass due to a lack of momentum."

This time, however, North Korea created the momentum by launching a series of provocations from the start of the year, which pushed the sanctions bill through in a record short period of time, the ambassador said.

U.S. President Barack Obama is soon expected to issue an executive order authorizing the new sanctions.

Earlier this month, the U.N. Security Council also adopted Resolution 2270 calling for the mandatory inspection of all cargo going in and out of the North and a ban on the country's exports of coal and other mineral resources, a key source of hard currency for the cash-strapped regime. (Yonhap)