The United States is stepping up efforts to win Moscow's agreement, a prerequisite for the resolution's adoption as Russia is a veto-holding permanent member of the council, with US Secretary of State John Kerry speaking twice by phone with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, over the weekend.
The resolution, which significantly toughens sanctions on Pyongyang, was put together after nearly 50 days of painstaking negotiations between the US and China amid Beijing's opposition to harsh measures against the communist neighbor.
The US-China agreement had raised hope that the resolution could be adopted as early as last weekend. But Russia put a last-minute hold on it, saying it needs time to review the proposed resolution. Russia is the only member of the 15-member council that has yet to endorse the text.
