President Trump signs new sanctions order on North Korea

US President Donald Trump on September 21 signed into law new sanctions against North Korea targeting individuals and organizations doing business with Pyongyang, Reuters reported.

US President Donald Trump. Photo: Reuters

Reuters quoted President Trump as saying that North Korea's weapons program is a serious threat to world peace and security. The head of the White House also emphasized that financial support for North Korea is "unacceptable".

“Today I am announcing a new executive order that I just signed to sanction individuals, businesses, and financial institutions that do business with North Korea,” Mr. Trump said.

“The new order will cut off funding for North Korea’s weapons development,” he added.

Yonhap quoted a White House statement saying that the decree allows the US Treasury Department to sanction any individual or organization that exchanges goods, services and technology with North Korea.

In particular, the decree allows sanctions against any foreign financial institution that "assists" individuals or organizations subject to sanctions for doing business with North Korea.

“Foreign banks will have to choose between doing business with the United States or doing business with North Korea,” Mr. Trump said.

The new sanctions also target North Korea’s shipping and trade networks. Any vessel or aircraft found traveling to North Korea will be banned from entering the United States for 180 days. The new sanctions also apply to vessels engaged in ship-to-ship transfers to North Korea.

The sanctions also target individuals involved in a range of North Korean economic sectors, including construction, energy, textiles and fisheries.

The sanctions were imposed just over a week after the United Nations Security Council passed a new sanctions resolution against North Korea, also drafted by the US. Despite the sanctions, North Korea has vowed not to abandon its controversial nuclear and missile programs.

According to Dan Tri