Alwaght- The US has imposed sanctions on two firms, one in Russia and one in China, “for supporting” North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs.
The new sanctions come despite an agreement reached between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in Singapore in June.
The new sanctions target Russian-based Volasys Silver Star and China-based Yanbian Silverstar Network Technology Co, the US Treasury Department said on its website. A North Korean national, Song Hwa-jong, was also sanctioned. The US imposed sanctions this summer on two Russian shipping companies and six vessels, on a Russian port service agency as well as Chinese companies. Russia has said the US had acted without evidence on the basis of groundless accusations.
US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin warned companies across the globe “to take precautions to ensure that they are not unwittingly employing North Korean workers for technology projects.”
Ending a period of animosity over North Korea’s nuclear and missile development, Trump made history by meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore in June. But the meeting only produced a vague statement on a nuclear-free peninsula without describing how and when it would occur.
Thursday's sanctions announcement is the latest sign the US is moving to increase pressure on Pyongyang to end its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
North Korea previously said the US is returning back to old methods from previous administrations. Pyongyang has warned that its “unwavering determination to denuclearize” could be shaken, if the US continued denuclearization demands without first “creating the objective environment” for peace.
