UNITED NATIONS — In response to North Korea’s third nuclear test, the UN Security Council voted on Thursday to tighten financial restrictions on Pyongyang and crack down on its attempts to ship and receive banned cargo in breach of UN sanctions.

The U. S.- drafted resolution, approved unanimously by the 15-nation council, was the product of three weeks of negotiations between the U.S. and China after North Korea’s Feb. 12 test.

UN Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon, a former South Korean foreign minister, said the resolution “sent an unequivocal mes- sage to ( North Korea) that the international community will not tolerate its pursuit of nuclear weapons.”

The resolution specifies some luxury items that North Korea’s elite will not be allowed to import, such as yachts, racing cars, luxury automobiles and certain types of jewelry.

The export of luxury goods, and items related to Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs, to North Korea has been prohibited since 2006, though diplomats and analysts say the enforcement of UN sanctions has been uneven.

“The strength, breadth and severity of these sanctions will raise the cost to North Korea of its illicit nuclear program and further constrain its ability to finance and source materials and technology for its ballistic missile, conventional and nuclear weapons program,” said U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice.

“When North Korea tries to move money to pay for its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, countries must now block those transfers even if the money is being carried in suitcases full of bulk cash,” she said.

China’s Ambassador Li Baodong reiterated Beijing’s calls for a resumption of the stalled six-party aid- for- disarmament talks between the two Koreas, the U.S. China, Russia and Japan.

“We want to see full implementation of the resolution,” China’s UN Ambassador Li Baodong said.

“The top priority now is to defuse the tension, bring down heat, focus on the diplomatic track.”

Rice also reacted to North Korea’s latest volley of bellicose rhetoric, in which it threatened the U. S. with a pre- emptive nuclear strike.

“North Korea will achieve nothing by continued threats and provocations. These will only further isolate the country and its people and undermine international efforts to promote peace and stability in northeast Asia,” Rice said.

It also adds a binding obligation on countries to “not provide public financial support for trade with the DPRK” if it could in any way support North Korea’s nuclear or missile work.