Trump reveals ‘largest ever’ sanctions against North Korea
THE US announced the “largest ever” sanctions against North Korea as the Winter Olympics truce appeared to come to an abrupt halt.
More than 50 ships and maritime transport companies were targeted in an attempt to cut off sources of funding for the regime’s nuclear programme.
The move is an escalation of the “extreme” diplomatic and economic pressure that the US has been putting on North Korea under Donald Trump.
The two countries toned down their rhetoric and scaled back military drills during the early weeks of the Winter Olympics, hosted in South Korea.
However the détente appeared to be over yesterday as Mr Trump announced “the largest-ever set of new sanctions on the North Korean regime”.
He said in a statement: “The treasury department will soon be taking new action to further cut off sources of revenue and fuel that the regime uses to fund its nuclear program and sustain its military by targeting 56 vessels, shipping companies, and trade businesses that are assisting North Korea in evading sanctions.”
The shipping companies are mainly based in North Korea, but two are on the Chinese mainland, two in Taiwan, one in Panama and one in Singapore.
It comes amid growing signs that UN sanctions pushed through by the US are having an impact. Paper for North Korea’s main publication, the Rodong
Sinmun – a mouthpiece for the regime – is running short. Food and fuel are increasingly scarce, while there are reports that hard currency reserves could dry up by October.
The Trump administration is determined that the regime does not develop a nuclear weapon that could hit US mainland cities – something they fear could be just months away.
Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter, is leading the US delegation for the Winter Olympics closing ceremony. She called it a “great honour”, adding: “We are very, very excited to attend the ... Games to cheer for Team USA and to reaffirm our strong and enduring commitment with the people of the Republic of Korea.”