The Treasury Department on Tuesday unveiled new sanctions targeting Russian and Chinese entities it said have continued to aid North Korea following recent United Nations sanctions against the Kim regime.
“It is unacceptable for individuals and companies in China, Russia, and elsewhere to enable North Korea to generate income used to develop weapons of mass destruction and destabilize the region,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement. “We are taking actions consistent with UN sanctions to show that there are consequences for defying sanctions and providing support to North Korea, and to deter this activity in the future.”
Treasury’s targets included three Chinese companies that the administration said were responsible for importing almost half a billion dollars’ worth of North Korean coal as well as Russians it said were involved in providing oil to the country.
The announcement follows an escalation of tensions with North Korea over its nuclear weapons program and missile tests. Early this month, the United Nations agreed to step up sanctions.
America can only do so much to penalize these companies. For UN sanctions to work, China and Russia must follow through on their commitments to crack down on corporations that flout the embargo. Their track record for doing so after previous sanctions isn’t good; only time will tell how they respond to these.
