Trump drops curbs since he likes Kim

washington — President Donald Trump on Friday abruptly announced the cancellation of sanctions imposed by his own Treasury Department to tighten international pressure on North Korea.

“It was announced today by the US Treasury that additional large scale sanctions would be added to those already existing sanctions on North Korea. I have today ordered the withdrawal of those additional sanctions!” Trump said in a tweet.

He appeared to be referring to measures unveiled on Thursday that targeted two Chinese companies accused of helping North Korea to evade tight international sanctions meant to pressure Pyongyang into ending its nuclear weapons programme.

But The Washington Post reported that the president’s tweet referenced future sanctions that had not been announced and were scheduled for “the coming days”.

The Thursday sanctions were the first new sign of pressure since talks between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un broke down in Hanoi less than a month ago. However, Trump appears to retain hope that his strong personal relationship will bear fruit.

“President Trump likes Chairman Kim and he doesn’t think these sanctions will be necessary,” the president’s spokeswoman, Sarah Sanders, said.

Adam Schiff, a Democrat, blasted Trump for cancelling sanctions “imposed only yesterday and championed by his own national security advisor, because he ‘loves’ Kim”. —