The United States on Thursday announced economic sanctions against three North Korean officials for supporting Pyongyang’s “development of weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles,” the US Treasury Department said in a statement.
These measures target three leaders of the North Korean Workers’ Party, Jon Il Ho, Yu Jin and Kim Su Gil, who are already under European sanctions.
Coordination with Seoul and Tokyo
These officials “played a prominent role in North Korea’s illegal weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs,” Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson was quoted as saying in the press release.
He said the sanctions were taken “in close trilateral coordination with South Korea and Japan.”
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said on Saturday that North Korea, which possesses nuclear weapons, aspires to have “the most powerful strategic force in the world.”
North Korea proclaimed in September that its status as a nuclear power was “irreversible”, definitively closing the door to any negotiations on its disarmament. He then threatened the United States with a nuclear response in the event of an attack.
Pyongyang has unleashed an unprecedented series of missile launches this year, including its most advanced intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in November.
Source: BFM TV
