Treasury targets North Korean, Chinese shipping companies with new sanctions

Source: The Hill




BY SYLVAN LANE - 11/21/17 02:57 PM EST

The Treasury Department on Tuesday targeted more than a dozen Chinese and North Korean shipping companies with economic sanctions as part of its effort to exert more pressure on Pyongyang.

The department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) targeted one person, 12 shipping companies and 20 vessels “with long-standing commercial ties to North Korea,” blocking them from the U.S. financial system and freezing their U.S.-based assets.


Tuesday’s sanctions were issued under executive orders giving the Treasury Department power to target people and organizations believed to be financing and supplying the North Korean government, military and economy. They are the latest in a string of actions taken by the Trump administration to put economic pressure on Kim Jong Un's regime for its repeated missile tests.

“As North Korea continues to threaten international peace and security, we are steadfast in our determination to maximize economic pressure to isolate it from outside sources of trade and revenue while exposing its evasive tactics,” said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

Read more: http://thehill.com/policy/finance/361411-treasury-targets-north-korean-chinese-shipping-companies-to-boost-pressure-on