Add CategoryTHE Trump administration is hitting more than 50 vessels, shipping companies and trade businesses with sanctions in the latest bid to turn up the pressure on North Korea over its nuclear program, according to a senior administration official.
US President Donald Trump rolled out sanctions against North Korea-linked shipping assets this morning, hailing the package as the “heaviest sanctions ever” levied on the Pyongyang regime.
In light of past US embargoes, that is likely an overstatement, but Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin confirmed the sanctions covered “virtually all the ships” North Korea is “using at this moment in time.”
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Mr Trump used a speech to conservatives just outside Washington to step up his campaign of “maximum pressure” designed to force North Korea to roll back its weapons programs.
“We imposed today the heaviest sanctions ever imposed on a country before,” Mr Trump claimed at the end of a 90 minute campaign-style address.
Mr Trump had been expected to provide details of measures that target “56 vessels, shipping companies, and trade businesses,” but skipped that part of his prepared remarks.
The sanctions are targeted at sources of fuel and cash for the North.
The announcement comes as South Korea hosts the Winter Olympics, an occasion the two Koreas have used as an opportunity to try to restart talks.