U.S. says North Korea sanctions draft "very strong" response

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A draft U.N. sanctions resolution circulated to members of the Security Council is a "very strong" response to North Korea's recent nuclear test, the U.S. envoy to the United Nations said Wednesday.

"This sanctions regime, if passed by the Security Council, will bite, and bite in a meaningful way," Ambassador Susan Rice told reporters after a meeting of the 15-nation Security Council at which it received the U.S.-drafted resolution.

She added that a total ban on North Korean arms exports, as called for in the draft, would cut off a significant source of revenue for Pyongyang. (Reporting by Louis Charbonneau and Claudia Parsons; Editing by Doina Chiacu)