U.S. Treasury Department issues sanctions over North Korea ties

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued sanctions against 16 Chinese and Russian entities and individuals for alleged dealings with North Korea.    The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is cracking down on Chinese and Russian entities and individuals supporting the North Korean Regime.
   OFAC has issued sanctions against 10 entities and six individuals “in response to North Korea’s ongoing development of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), violations of United Nations (UN) Security Council Resolutions, and attempted evasion of U.S. sanctions,” the Treasury Department said Tuesday.
   “Treasury will continue to increase pressure on North Korea by targeting those who support the advancement of nuclear and ballistic missile programs, and isolating them from the American financial system,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said.
   Back in June, the Trump administration imposed sanctions on the Chinese Bank of Dandong, Dalian Global Unity Shipping, and two Chinese citizens. The Treasury Department said the Bank of Dandong “acts as a conduit for illicit North Korean financial activity” and is “a foreign bank of primary money laundering concern.”