The Trump administration is weighing sanctions it could impose on North Korea should the country continue to test the goodwill of the United States by firing missiles and testing nuclear weapons.
Possible new sanctions include an oil embargo, banning North Korea’s national airline Air Koryo, intercepting cargo ships and punishing Chinese banks and companies currently doing business with Pyongyang, White House officials told Reuters Wednesday.
“The amount of pressure that has been brought to bear economically on North Korea is far short of what was brought to bear against Iran,” a White House official told Reuters.
The new sanctions will be harsher depending on North Korea’s next moves.
U.S. officials said that although everything remains on the table the Trump administration would like to avoid launching preemptive strikes on North Korea, and is instead focusing on economic and diplomatic measures.
Trump sent an “armada” of military vessels to North Korea’s seas in response to Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs, prompting an infuriated response from leader Kim Jong-Un, who threatened nuclear war.
“North Korea is looking for trouble,” Trump tweeted Tuesday.
North Korea stated it is ready to launch a long-range missile at “any time.”
U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said the U.S. ships are headed to the region as a precautionary measure.
“She [the nuclear-powered flagship aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson] is just on her way up there because that is where we thought it was most prudent to have her at this time,” Mattis told reporters at the Pentagon.
Other sanctions could include banning seafood exports and new efforts to seize property belonging to Kim Jong-Un and his family.
The United Nations could go further, banning both contracted labor from North Korea as well as the country’s coal exports.
“There’s a whole host of things that are possible, all the way up to what’s essentially a trade quarantine on North Korea,” an official told Reuters.
The final decisions on sanctions will depend much on China’s cooperation with the U.S.
Although China is worried about North Korea’s possible sixth nuclear test or new missile launches, U.S. officials expressed skepticism about how much more China would stick its neck out to curb its intransigent neighbor.
Trump was optimistic about China’s help in the region after meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping last Thursday.
“We’ll see whether or not he does,” help with North Korea, Trump said.
China’s Global Times newspaper demanded North Korea cease its missile activities and has threatened restricting oil imports from North Korea.
