US hits North Korea with fresh sanctions over missile development
- The move comes a day after China and Russia vetoed a UN Security Council resolution to inflict tougher penalties on Pyongyang
- So far this year, North Korea has launched 23 ballistic missiles, including six intercontinental ballistic missiles, the US Treasury says
The US Treasury Department said two banks, one trading company and one individual are the targets of the new sanctions for their support of North Korea’s weapons development programmes.
So far this year, North Korea has launched 23 ballistic missiles, including six intercontinental ballistic missiles, with every launch in violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions, the department said in a press release.
“The United States will continue to implement and enforce existing sanctions while urging the DPRK to return to a diplomatic path and abandon its pursuit of weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles,” said Brian Nelson, undersecretary of the treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence, referring to the country by the acronym for its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
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According to Treasury, the two banks subject to the sanctions are Russian financial institutions – the Far Eastern Bank and Bank Sputnik.
The Air Koryo Trading Corp. was also designated a sanctions target “for providing, or attempting to provide, financial, material, technological or other support for, or goods or services” in support of the Ministry of Rocket Industry, the department said.