(Washington) The United States on Thursday announced economic sanctions against three North Korean officials for their support “for the development of weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles” by Pyongyang, the US Treasury Department said in a press release.
These measures target three leaders of the North Korean Workers’ Party, Jon Il Ho, Yu Jin, and Kim Su Gil, already under European sanctions.
These officials “played a prominent role in North Korea’s illegal weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs,” said Undersecretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson. quoted in the press release.
He said the sanctions were taken “in close trilateral coordination with South Korea and Japan”.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said on Saturday that the nuclear-armed North Korea aims to have “the most powerful strategic force in the world”.
North Korea proclaimed in September that its status as a nuclear power was “irreversible”, definitively closing the door to any negotiations on its disarmament. She later threatened the United States with nuclear retaliation in the event of an attack.
Pyongyang has unleashed an unprecedented string of missile launches this year, including its most advanced intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in November.
“Recent launches demonstrate the need for all countries to fully implement UN Security Council resolutions, which seek to prevent North Korea from acquiring the technologies, materials and revenues that Pyongyang needs to develop “these programs,” said Brian Nelson.
The Workers’ Party has also been under US sanctions since 2016.
Kim Jong-un called a key meeting of the Workers’ Party in December to decide the direction of the isolated country’s policies in 2023, state media reported on Thursday.