MAJOR powers including the US and China have agreed on a system to inspect suspect cargoes in and out of North Korea despite Pyongyang's warning that such checks will be regarded as an act of war.

The draft UN resolution - a response to North Korea's nuclear test on May 25 - would also expand the arms embargo on the country and clamp down on arms-related money transfers. The full 15-nation Security Council is expected to endorse the plan as early as today.

"This sanctions resolution, if passed by the Security Council, will bite and bite in a meaningful way," Washington's UN ambassador, Susan Rice, said yesterday.

China, the closest North Korea has to a powerful ally, threw its weight behind the plan after watering down some of the language on inspections.