U.S. House leaders discussing vote to tighten North Korea sanctions - sources

By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Republican leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives are considering a vote as soon as next week on long-delayed legislation to broaden sanctions against North Korea by imposing stiffer punishments on foreign companies doing business with Pyongyang, U.S. congressional sources said on Wednesday. Representatives Ed Royce, the Republican chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Eliot Engel, the top Democrat on the panel, introduced the measure early last year and it was passed by the committee in February. The chamber's Republican leaders did not bring the measure up for a vote in 2015, but North Korea’s announcement on Wednesday it had tested a powerful nuclear bomb left lawmakers clamouring for a strong U.S. response. Two congressional aides told Reuters that House leaders were looking at the measure again and it could come to the floor as soon as next week. A House Republican leadership source said no decision had been made on scheduling a floor debate and votes. (Additional reporting by Richard Cowan and Susan Cornwell; Editing by Peter Cooney)