Reuters reports that the U.S. government is considering broad sanctions aimed at blocking North Korea from the global financial system as part of measures to counter Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile threats.
 
A senior U.S. official told the news agency, on the condition of anonymity, that the sanctions would be part of economic and diplomatic pressure on Chinese banks and firms that do the most business with North Korea.
 
The official added that the Trump administration is giving priority for now to less risky options, while the longstanding option of preemptive strikes against the North is not off the table.
 
The official said that the policy recommendations being assembled by National Security Adviser Herbert McMaster are expected to be delivered to President Trump within weeks, possibly before his summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping scheduled early next month.
 
Reuters said that North Korea is expected to top the agenda for the upcoming U.S.-Chinese summit, the first to be held since Trump came into office.
 
The report said that for now, U.S. officials consider preemptive strikes too risky, citing the danger of igniting a regional war and causing massive casualties in South Korea and Japan, and among tens of thousands of U.S. troops stationed in the two countries. 

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