After his allegedly successful meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at Mar-a-Largo, President Trump has tweeted repeatedly about how he needs China to help put pressure on North Korea. Since tweeting apparently isn’t going to fix this situation, the Treasury Department announced new sanctions on Chinese and Russian individuals and companies in the U.S. effort to get North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons program:
The Treasury Department on Tuesday said it would target 10 entities and six individuals who help already sanctioned people who aid North Korea’s missile program or “deal in the North Korean energy trade.” The U.S. also aims to sanction people and groups that allow North Korean entities to access the U.S. financial system or helps its exportation of workers, according to the Treasury.
Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said the sanctions would prevent North Korea from accessing U.S. financial system and prevent North Korea from generating income that is put toward their weapons program.
After President Trump promised “fire and fury” on North Korea, top U.S. officials have said that military action against North Korea should only be a last resort, and getting assistance from China is seen as one of the only ways to plausibly keep up diplomatic pressure. Earlier this month, China and Russia voted yes on a UN Security Council resolution to sanction North Korea, indicating that perhaps China is willing to help.
(Via CNBC)