US announces largest ever package of sanctions against North Korea
On February 23, the US Treasury Department announced a package of sanctions that it called "the largest ever" against North Korea.
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US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the department's new measures target entities used by North Korea to evade sanctions.
Earlier the same day, US President Donald Trump announced that he was preparing to announce new sanctions to put pressure on North Korea regarding its nuclear program.
Speaking from Washington, he stressed that this would be the largest package of sanctions ever against North Korea, focusing on an energy embargo and preventing Pyongyang from accessing foreign currency. About 50 cargo ships, shipping companies and businesses will be specifically named by the US in the new sanctions package.
Meanwhile, denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula remains a common goal that both the US and South Korea are aiming for, but Seoul and Washington are showing different views to achieve that goal.
This difference of opinion was expressed in a private meeting on February 23 between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and White House Senior Advisor Ivanka Trump, who is visiting South Korea to attend the closing ceremony of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics scheduled to take place on February 25.
According to Yonhap news agency, speaking to the press, President Moon Jae-in's press secretary, Mr. Yoon Young Chan, said during the meeting, President Moon Jae-in acknowledged that the long-standing efforts of the US and South Korea to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula over the past 25 years have all failed and, according to him, the two countries need to take advantage of the current opportunity for reconciliation between the two Koreas to promote the process that has been at a standstill for a long time.
Mr. Yoon Young Chan quoted President Moon Jae-in as affirming that dialogues towards denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and inter-Korean dialogue cannot take place separately. He emphasized that these two dialogue processes must take place in parallel and require close cooperation between the US and South Korea.
Mr. Yoon quoted President Moon Jae-in as saying to Ms. Ivanka: "The two countries need to take advantage of this lucrative opportunity, and I hope to be able to realize this historic achievement together with President Trump."
Meanwhile, according to Mr. Yoon, Ms. Ivanka Trump emphasized that the campaigns to increase maximum pressure on North Korea have brought positive results, therefore, the US always supports South Korea's efforts to increase pressure on Pyongyang.
Ms Ivanka said her trip was partly to reaffirm the two allies' commitment to "our maximum pressure campaign to ensure that the Korean Peninsula is denuclearized."
In January 2018, Seoul and Pyongyang held three rounds of talks, leading to North Korea's decision to send a delegation of athletes to the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics taking place in South Korea.
The two sides' active coordination in the preparation and during the aforementioned sporting event is expected to become a springboard for Seoul and Pyongyang to promote reconciliation dialogues between the two Koreas and serve as a premise to promote the six-party talks on the North Korean nuclear issue, which have been stalled since 2008./.
