U.S. State Secretary John Kerry has warned North Korean leaders that they will have to consider potential consequences when they act. 

Kerry's remark came at a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko after their meeting in Kiev on Thursday.

He was specifically referring to the sanction on the North Korean officials announced on Wednesday by the U.S. Treasury Department for the country's human rights violations.

Kerry said that the Washington believes it is important that all North Korean officials know and understand, at all levels, there are consequences for actions, and they should consider the implications of those actions.

Kerry also emphasized Beijing’s role in restraining the North’s behaviors.

Noting that he had a telephone conversation with China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday, Kerry reiterated the importance of a Washington-Beijing cooperation in pressing North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to give up the regime’s clandestine nuclear program. 

The U.S. Treasury Department sanctions consist of 15 North Korean individuals and eight entities, including Kim.

The first sanction, directly aimed at a top leader of North Korea, was drawn up based on the human rights report of the country by the U.S. State Department.