Anchor: The U.S. has imposed new sanctions on Chinese and Russian individuals and firms for their alleged ties to North Korea’s nuclear weapons program. The U.S. Justice Department also filed a suit against companies that allegedly laundered money for North Korean banks.
Alannah Hill has this report.
 
Report: The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday slapped sanctions on ten entities based in China, Russia, Singapore and Namibia, as well as six individuals from Russia, China and North Korea.
 
The department said that the targeted individuals and companies are suspected of assisting people already sanctioned for their ties to North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programs, dealing in the North Korean energy trade, facilitating its exportation of workers, and enabling sanctioned North Korean entities to access U.S. and international financial systems.
 
This is the fifth round of sanctions the U.S. has put forward this year regarding North Korea.
 
The first and second sanctions focused on North Korean individuals and entities, while the third and fourth targeted foreign companies and individuals enabling the North’s nuclear program, effectively adopting a secondary boycott for third-party entities dealing with Pyongyang.
 
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin warned in a statement that the U.S. will continue to increase pressure on North Korea by targeting those who support the advancement of nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
 
Meanwhile, the U.S. Justice Department filed a suit against three companies based in Singapore and China that allegedly laundered money for North Korean banks that are subject to U.S. sanctions. The department is seeking forfeitures of eleven million U.S. dollars from the firms.
 
The Chinese Embassy in the U.S. strongly protested against the new sanctions, saying it opposes unilateral sanctions outside the framework of the UN Security Council.
 
China warned that Washington should immediately correct its mistake in order to avoid damaging bilateral cooperation.
Alannah Hill, KBS World Radio News.

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