The U.N. Security Council could expand restrictions imposed on the transfer of luxury items and strategic materials to North Korea if the communist nation defies international warnings and launches a long-range rocket, South Korea's U.N. ambassador said.

"The existing measure bans the export of some luxury items and strategic materials to North Korea. The scope of the sanctions could be expanded," Amb. Oh Joon said in an interview with Voice of America, referring to existing U.N. Security Council sanctions on Pyongyang.

The remark suggests that fresh sanctions could target North Korea's ruling elite, not ordinary people in the impoverished nation. The ambassador also said that trade in daily necessities won't be affected even if sanctions are toughened.

Oh also said that he believes U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is ready to play a role in promoting peace on the Korean Peninsula and is willing to make a visit to North Korea if necessary.

Concerns have grown that the North could launch a long-range rocket, possibly around next month's ruling party anniversary, after Pyongyang said earlier this month it has the right to the peaceful use of space and would launch satellites.

Such launches are banned under U.N. Security Council resolutions as Pyongyang has long been accused of using long-range rocket launches as a pretext for test-firing intercontinental ballistic missiles. Experts say long-range rockets and ICBMs are basically the same with differences only in payloads. (Yonhap)