US President Joe Biden’s administration on Friday announced sanctions against a network of Russians suspected of helping North Korea build up its illicit weapons programmes. The move comes one day after US officials warned that Pyongyang would face punishment for building and testing a new type of long-range missile, and they also add to a slew of economic sanctions already imposed against Moscow earlier in the day over its invasion of Ukraine. “The DPRK continues to launch ballistic missiles in blatant violation of international law, posing a grave threat to global security,” said Brian Nelson, under secretary of the Treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence. The sanctions are the latest effort by Washington to slow down Pyongyang’s development of an increasingly sophisticated arsenal, which includes nuclear weapons and missiles that can reach the United States. Two Russian individuals and three Russian companies helped North Korea procure supplies for the programme in violation of US and United Nations sanctions, the Treasury Department said. They will be blacklisted from the US financial system. “The United States will continue to implement and enforce existing sanctions to press the DPRK to return to a diplomatic path and abandon its pursuit of weapons of mass destruction and missiles,” Nelson said, using an acronym for the full name of North Korea, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. North Korea has pursued its weapons programme despite crushing economic sanctions, and throughout numerous attempts at diplomatic outreach from Washington and Seoul. The country has launched 11 ballistic missiles already this year, according to US officials, which Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday called “a blatant violation of international law”. US and allies move to stiffen penalties on Russia, including trade status The most recent two launches, on February 26 and March 4, “involved a new intercontinental ballistic missile system”, Jung Pak, the State Department’s deputy special representative for North Korea, said on Thursday, which she called a “serious escalation”. On Friday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un appeared at a launch site that Pyongyang says is for the country’s space programme, according to North Korean state media. Kim reportedly called for the site to be modernised, to “enable large carrier rockets to be launched”. Pak said the North’s recent tests were likely meant to check elements of the new long-range weapon system before a more complete launch, “which they will potentially attempt to disguise as a space launch”. Officials in Seoul also warned on Friday that the North appeared to be rebuilding parts of its nuclear testing site at Punggye-ri, which was purportedly destroyed in 2018, according to South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency. This comes as South Korea on Wednesday elected a new conservative president, Yoon Suk-yeol, who vowed on the campaign trail to take a harder line against Pyongyang. The Biden administration says it has tried to reach out to North Korea to restart talks but has made no headway. A rare period of diplomacy between Washington and Pyongyang briefly flourished during the Donald Trump administration, until the two sides failed to strike a deal on the North’s nuclear weapons or the US-led retaliatory sanctions, which cover everything from liquor and luxury cars to iron and coal. South Korea president-elect to sternly deal with North Korea, reset China ties Diplomacy with North Korea has also been a top priority throughout the five-year term of outgoing South Korean President Moon Jae-in. “We have repeatedly underscored our willingness to engage,” Ned Price, the State Department spokesman, said on Friday. “It is now up to the DPRK to determine if it wishes to engage.” “Of course, in recent days, rather than engagements, we have seen additional provocations,” he said. Additional reporting by Owen Churchill