U.S. adds sanctions against North Korea

Action affects North Koreans working in other countries.

The United States added eight North Korean banks and 26 individuals to its sanctions blacklist Tuesday, part of an effort to choke the North economically over its nuclear weapons and missile testing.

The action, announced by the Treasury Department, affects North Koreans working in China, Russia, Libya and the United Arab Emirates. The penalties underscore the reach of North Korea’s financial connections despite an onerous array of restrictions already imposed on the country by the United States and the United Nations.

“We are targeting North Korean banks and financial facilitators acting as representatives for North Korean banks across the globe,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in announcing the sanctions.

He said the sanctions were imposed to complement a U.N. Security Council resolution on Sept. 11 that represented the strongest penalties imposed on North Korea for its nuclear and missile tests.

The Treasury action came a day after North Korea’s foreign minister, Ri Yong Ho, said his country regarded the Trump administration’s recent statements and actions as a “declaration of war.”

Ri said that North Korea now had the right to shoot down U.S. warplanes even if they were operating in international airspace. Trump administration officials called Ri’s accusations absurd.

Under U.S. sanctions, any property under U.S. jurisdiction belonging to designated entities or people can be seized.

Those targeted by the sanctions are also forbidden from doing business with American citizens.