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| North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Photo / REUTERS |
WASHINGTON - The US Department of Finance's Official Asset Control (OFAC) announced the biggest sanctions imposed on North Korea. A total of 28 vessels, 27 entities and one individual on the list of sanctions target.
These sanctioned vessels are based or registered in North Korea, China, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Marshall Islands, Tanzania, Panama and Comoros.
Currently, the Ministry of Finance, along with the US Department of State and the US Coast Guard authorities, also issued a public warning regarding sanctions to be accepted if it continues to allow cargo ship operations to and from North Korea.
"(Ministry of Finance) is aggressively targeting all the forbidden paths used by North Korea to avoid sanctions, including taking decisive action to block ships, shipping companies and entities around the world working on behalf of North Korea," said US Treasury Secretary Seteven Mnuchin , in a press release received by SINDOnews.com, Saturday (24/2/2018).
"This will greatly hamper Kim's regime's capacity to conduct maritime activities that facilitate the transportation of coal and illegal fuel, and erode its ability to deliver goods through international waters," Mnuchin continued.
"The president has explained to companies around the world that if they choose to help fund North Korea's nuclear ambitions, they will not do business with the United States," Mnuchin said.
The largest US sanctions for North Korea refers to the "North Korea Sanctions Policy and Enforcement Act of 2016" and "Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act of 2017".
Both laws provide broad criteria for the appointment of ships and freight services related to the sanctioned country.