Trump administration makes a shift from efforts to woo the North Korean regimeThe sanctions freeze any assets the officials may have under US jurisdiction
The United States on Monday imposed sanctions on three North Korean officials as it called the regime’s human rights record among the world’s worst, in an abrupt shift from US President Donald Trump’s efforts to woo the regime.
In actions required by Congress, the Trump administration said it would seize any US assets of Choe Ryong-hae, described as the right-hand man of leader Kim Jong-un, and two others over their roles in suppression of freedom of speech.
“Standing up for such rights and freedoms is a foreign policy priority that represents the best traditions of the United States,” State Department spokesman Robert Palladino said.
“Human rights abuses in North Korea remain among the worst in the world and include extrajudicial killings, forced labour, torture, prolonged arbitrary detention, rape, forced abortions and other sexual violence,” he said.
The State Department is required by a 2016 law to produce a report on North Korean human rights for Congress twice a year.
But its submission on Monday — International Human Rights Day — was the first since October 2017 as Trump championed diplomacy with North Korea that focused squarely on its nuclear program.
