The United States has sanctioned a Russian financial firm for helping North Korea evade financial sanctions.

The Treasury Department said on its website on Wednesday that the Russian Financial Society provided financial services to the North’s Dandong Zhongsheng Industry and Trade, enabling it to access the global financial system and channel funds to Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program. 

The Russian firm is accused of opening multiple bank accounts for Dandong Zhongsheng, which is owned by North Korea's Foreign Trade Bank. 

The move comes a day before Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to make a two-day state visit to North Korea amid an impasse in nuclear negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang.

In March, the Treasury Department announced sanctions on two Chinese shipping companies for doing business with North Korea. U.S. President Donald Trump announced the next day that he had "ordered the withdrawal" of additional sanctions, creating confusion over which sanctions he was referring to.

As of Thursday, the two Chinese companies remain on the Treasury website's list of sanctioned entities.

[Photo : YONHAP News]