The United States announced new financial sanctions on Friday following the latest North Korean missile launches, targeting in particular two Russian banks accused of supporting North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction program.
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These measures come after Russia and China vetoed a US resolution in the UN Security Council on Thursday to strengthen international sanctions against Pyongyang.
US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield then accused Beijing and Moscow of emboldening Pyongyang, promising new unilateral punitive measures from Washington.
These sanctions target the Far Eastern Bank and Bank Sputnik, two Russian institutions accused by the US Treasury of having “knowingly provided significant financial services” to North Korea.
They also target Jong Yong Nam, an individual who, according to the Treasury, works from Belarus, an ally of Russia, for the North Korean arms research institute, as well as a company affiliated with the company North Korean airline Air Koryo — which was itself already on the American blacklist.
Their possible assets in the United States are frozen and their access to the American market is barred.
The Treasury recalls in a press release that North Korea launched three ballistic missiles, including an intercontinental, on May 24, just after the visit to Asia of American President Joe Biden, which brings to 23 the ballistic missile tests since the beginning. of the year “in violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions”.
In addition, Washington expects an imminent nuclear test from Pyongyang, breaking the moratorium observed since 2017.
“The United States will continue to implement and enforce sanctions while urging North Korea to return to diplomacy and abandon its development of weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles,” the undersecretary said. Treasury Brian Nelson in this release.
