U.S. sanctions two more North Korean officials for ballistic missile program

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration announced sanctions Tuesday against twomore North Korean offi-cials for their alleged role in Pyongyang’s expand-ing ballistic missiles pro-gram.

The Treasury Depart-ment “is targeting leaders of North Korea’s ballisticmissile programs, as partof our maximum pres-sure campaign to isolate [North Korea] and achieve a fully denuclear-ized Korean Peninsula, ”Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin saidin a statement.

The nuclear-armed country tested an inter-continental ballistic mis-sile last month that U.S. officials said appeared ca-pable of reaching New York or Washington, asignificant milestone inthe country’s growing ar-senal.

Treasury identified one of the two North Korean officials as Kim Jong Sik, who “report-edly is a key figure” in the ballistic missile programand who led efforts to switch them from liquid to solid fuel. Using solidfuel makes missiles eas-ier to hide before launch.

Treasury also sanc-tioned Ri Pyong Chol, who it said was “reported to be a key official” in the development of intercon-tinental ballistic missiles.The sanctions block banks, companies and in-dividuals from doing any business with the targeted officials. It also allows the U.S. government to freeze any American assets owned by the officials, should they exist.

On Friday, the United Nations Security Council unanimously voted to add more sanctions on North Korea, its third round this year. The new measures order North Koreans working abroad to return home within two years, and ban nearly 90 percent of refined petroleum exports to the country.

In a statement published Sunday by the state-run KCNA news agency, the foreign ministry denounced the new U.N. sanctions as “an act of war.”

“We define this ‘sanctions resolution’ rigged up by the U.S. and its followers as a grave infringement upon the sovereignty of our Republic, as an act of war violating peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula and the region and categorically reject the ‘resolution,’ “it said.

Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP Two officials in North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s government have been sanctioned by the United States for their roles in the country’s ballistic missile program.