UNITED NATIONS, March 5 (RIA Novosti) - Russia will support a draft UN Security Council resolution submitted by the United States on Tuesday, which expands sanctions against North Korea in response to its nuclear test, Russia’s UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said.

“We plan to support [the draft resolution], as a great deal of work has been carried out,” Churkin told journalists, adding that the draft “focuses on North Korea’s nuclear missile program.”

“This is what we wanted while pressing for the сouncil’s proper reaction to North Korea’s nuclear test,” the diplomat said.

“In this way, a clear signal is given to Pyongyang that such actions are inadmissible, and, in our view, there is still a chance to return to six-party talks, during which the Korean Peninsula denuclearization problem should be resolved,” he explained.

Churkin also said the UN Security Council may vote on the sanctions as soon as Thursday.

The international community condemned North Korea on February 12 after Pyongyang confirmed it had conducted a third nuclear test in defiance of UN resolutions and appeals from its neighbors.

Seismic activity was detected in North Korea at 11:58 a.m. Korean time (02:58 GMT) on February 12, fueling suspicions that the country had carried out an underground nuclear test because the area is not prone to earthquakes.