US sanctions top Kim Jong-un aides over rights abuse

THE US 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 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 US,” 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 last year as Trump championed diplomacy with North Korea that focused squarely on its nuclear programme.

“The US has consistently condemned the North Korean regime for its flagrant and egre- gious abuses of human rights and fundamental freedoms, and this administration will continue to take action against human rights abusers around the globe,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement announcing the sanctions.

Trump, however, has openly played down human rights concerns when preserving relationships with allies.

The sanctions will seize any assets of the three officials in the US and ban any US-based financial transactions with them.

Such restrictions may have little impact on officials in one of the world’s most closed countries but will have a clear symbolic force as North Korea seeks greater acceptance by the US.

Kim and Trump held a first-ofa-kind summit in June in Singapore as North Korea seeks a historic declaration of the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.

Trump, who saw the summit as a highlight in his foreign affairs record, has said that he and Kim are “in love” and as recently as this month voiced respect for the North Korean leader.

But Trump’s hopes of arranging a follow-up summit have been at a standstill, with the North Koreans abruptly calling off a meeting in New York last month with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

North Korea has been insisting on a relaxation of wide-ranging sanctions on the country, while the US said that the UN Security Council should only ease pressure once Pyongyang takes concrete steps to end its nuclear programme.

Choe is a lifetime confidant of Kim’s father, Kim Jong-il, and in the past has been described as the effective number-two in controlling the military.

He is often trusted to make foreign trips or deliver highprofile announcements. At a major military parade last year, he warned that North Korea was ready to “beat down enemies with the power of nuclear justice”.

When Choe briefly vanished from official media in 2014, North Korea watchers feared he suffered a fate similar to Kim’s uncle, Jang Song-thaek, who was executed as a traitor, but Choe quickly re-emerged in prominent roles.

The Treasur y Department noted that Choe is head of the ruling Workers Party’s Organisation and Guidance Department, which enforces ideological discipline and ensures that all officials keep in line.

Another of the officials targeted was Jong Kyong-thaek, the minister of state security, which is in charge of counterintelligence operations.

The third sanctioned official was Pa k Kwang-ho, who i s involved in widespread censorsh ip a s d i rec tor of t he Propaga nda a nd Ag itat ion Department.