Gen. Kim Yong-chol speaks on North Korean state TV on Tuesday. /[North] Korean Central TV-News 1

The UN Security Council is poised to adopt a new resolution entailing tougher sanctions against North Korea in response to the North's latest nuclear test.

Reuters cited unnamed diplomatic sources as saying the U.S. and China after some wrangling agreed on a draft resolution that "significantly expands" sanctions against the renegade country.

A closed-door meeting of the Security Council on Wednesday with the representatives of 15 member nations is to discuss the draft. If it passes, it will be adopted by a plenary session of the UN.

The agreement authorizes tougher inspections of North Korean vessels suspected of carrying illicit cargo and new pressure on Pyongyang’s international financial activities. Also, more North Korean entities and individuals are expected to be affected.

North Korea responded with the usual bluster, threatening to scrap the armistice that halted the Korean War over 60 years ago. Gen. Kim Yong-chol, who oversees the North's spy activities targeting South Korea, appeared on state TV and threatened to scrap the armistice effective next Monday, when South Korea and the U.S. start their annual joint military drills.

Kim threatened to retaliate using "precision nuclear strikes" that will create a "sea of fire." He also threatened to recall a military representative stationed at the border peace village of Panmunjom and sever a military hotline with the South.

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