The United States has slapped new sanctions on Chinese and North Korean firms and individuals that it said support the Pyongyang regime of Kim Jong-Un and his nuclear weapons programme….
The United States has slapped new sanctions on Chinese and North Korean firms and individuals that it said support the Pyongyang regime of Kim Jong-Un and his nuclear weapons programme.
The move comes as the US seeks to choke the flow of goods and materials crucial to North Korea’s economy such as oil, electronics and metals, and pressure Kim to halt the development of nuclear weapons that threaten the region and potentially the US mainland.
Following UN sanctions, US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said: “The US government is targeting illicit actors in China, Russia, and elsewhere who are working on behalf of North Korean financial networks, and calling for their expulsion from the territories where they reside.
“We are sanctioning additional oil, shipping, and trading companies that continue to provide a lifeline to North Korea to fuel this regime’s nuclear ambitions and destabilising activities.”
US demands China oust North Koreans from its shores – but Beijing won’t comply
Two Chinese trading firms are among the sanctioned organisations, as are representatives of North Korean companies and banks mostly based in China and Russia; and North Korean shipping companies and six specific vessels;
“Treasury continues to systematically target individuals and entities financing the Kim regime and its weapons programmes, including officials complicit in North Korean sanctions evasion schemes,” Mnuchin said.
