A senior U.S. government official says Washington will soon announce additional sanctions against North Korea and maintain them for the next several months.

The State Department official said Sunday that the U.S. is confident of repressing the communist state with the new sanctions.

In particular, the official hinted at the sanctions lasting until the end of the year unless Pyongyang fundamentally changes its attitude.

The official said Washington will announce the new sanctions around the end of this month.