The U.S. Senate on Thursday passed a 750 billion dollar defense bill that includes provisions for stricter sanctions on North Korea. 

According to the Washington-based political newspaper The Hill, the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2020 passed the Senate 86-8. 

The act, which authorizes spending and provides broad policy outlines for the Pentagon, reportedly includes an amendment that calls for secondary sanctions on financial institutions that conduct business with North Korea in violation of existing sanctions on Pyongyang.

The amendment is called the Otto Warmbier Banking Restrictions Involving North Korea Act after the student who died shortly after being released from North Korean detention in a vegetative state in 2017.

The Hill said the measures would especially affect Chinese banks, adding the defense bill will need to be reconciled with a House of Representatives version before being sent to the White House for the president's signature.

[Photo : YONHAP News]