A bipartisan group of U.S. senators warned the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) of more economic sanctions in response to any provocation on Wednesday, days after China and Russia called for lifting some sanctions on the DPRK. 

U.S. senators Chris Van Hollen, Pat Toomey, Sherrod Brown and Rob Portman led the passage of a DPRK sanctions bill as part of an annual defense policy bill that passed the Senate on Tuesday. The defense bill will be enacted into law once U.S. President Donald Trump signs it, which he pledged to do "immediately" last week. 

The DPRK sanctions bill mandates sanctions on foreign banks and companies facilitating illicit financial transactions for Pyongyang. 

"I think, regardless of what their (the DPRK) thinking is, we're here together because we think it's important to send a very clear message that we are going to respond to North Korean (DPRK) aggression by further ratcheting up economic pressure," Van Hollen said at a press conference on Capitol Hill. 

Pyongyang has threatened to send Washington a "Christmas gift" amid the prolonged impasse in their denuclearization talks.

China confirmed on Tuesday that it had put forward a draft resolution to the United Nations Security Council jointly with Russia, aiming to find ways to settle the Korean Peninsula issue politically. 

Geng Shuang, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said the draft resolution proposes lifting some of the sanctions on the DPRK in light of the country's compliance with relevant resolutions. 

"We hope the UN Security Council can have one voice in supporting the political settlement of the issue," said Geng, adding that the UN Security Council should encourage the United States and the DPRK to respect each other's concerns, show flexibility and sincerity, meet each other halfway, make joint efforts to implement the consensus of the Singapore Joint Statement, follow the phased and synchronized principles to resume dialogue as soon as possible, and prevent the dialogue process from derailing or even regressing. 

The draft resolution also calls for the resumption of the six-party talks involving the DPRK, the Republic of Korea (ROK), the U.S., China, Russia and Japan.

Trump and DPRK leader Kim Jong Un have met three times since June 2018, including formal summits in Singapore and Vietnam's Hanoi and a brief handshake at Panmunjom, a border village separating the DPRK and the ROK. 

However, talks between the sides have stalled due to their differences on how to achieve denuclearization and when to remove sanctions. Washington has vowed to maintain "maximum pressure" on Pyongyang until it abandons its nuclear programs completely, while the DPRK has warned of a "new path" if the U.S. refuses to ease sanctions. 

U.S. special envoy for the DPRK Stephen Biegun is scheduled to visit Beijing on Thursday and Friday, following his talks with officials in the ROK and Japan.