Seoul, Jan 21 (TIWN) The US and seven other members of the UN Security Council (UNSC) have urged the full implementation of sanctions on North Korea.

The call came after China blocked a U.S. proposal to impose additional U.N. sanctions against the North for conducting at least four missile launches since the start of the year. 

"We also call on all member states to implement Security Council resolutions, to which the Security Council unanimously agreed, and which calls on the DPRK to abandon its weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs in a complete, verifiable, and irreversible manner," said the joint statement, delivered by U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield on behalf of her counterparts from Albania, Brazil, Britain, France, Ireland, Japan and the United Arab Emirates. 

"It is extremely important that Member States take the necessary steps to implement the sanctions in their jurisdictions, or risk providing a blank check for the DPRK regime to advance its weapons program," the joint statement added. DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the North's official name.