U.S. Sanctions Chinese, Russian Firms for Aiding North Korea--Update
August 22 2017 - 3:07PM
Dow Jones News
By Aruna Viswanatha and Ian Talley
The U.S., seeking to clamp down on financing critical to North
Korea's nuclear-weapons program, on Tuesday targeted a host of
Chinese and Russian firms and related individuals it accuses of
aiding Pyongyang.
The U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control added 10
firms, including Chinese coal importers and Russian fuel exporters,
to its North Korea sanctions list. Federal prosecutors also filed a
pair of cases in federal court in Washington seeking tens of
millions of dollars in penalties in addition to seizing $11 million
in funds frozen at U.S. banks.
The cases target Chinese firms that allegedly had imported $700
million in North Korean coal since 2013 and a Russian firm
allegedly helping Pyongyang procure fuel.
"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 in a
statement. "We are taking actions consistent with U.N. sanctions to
show that there are consequences for defying sanctions and
providing support to North Korea, and to deter this activity in the
future."
The United Nations earlier this month banned coal exports from
North Korea, and while the U.N.'s panel of experts complain member
compliance has so far been spotty, China agreed to enforce the
latest measures amid growing international pressure.
"These complaints show our determination to stop North Korean
sanctioned banks and their foreign financial facilitators from
aiding North Korea in illegally accessing the United States
financial system to obtain goods and services in the global market
place," said Channing Phillips, the U.S. Attorney in Washington,
D.C., whose office brought the cases.
North Korean officials didn't immediately appear to comment on
the U.S. sanctions. Earlier Tuesday, Pyongyang attacked President
Donald Trump in the state media, branding his approach to the
crisis on the Korean Peninsula "unimaginably reckless."
Anthony Ruggiero, a former senior U.S. Treasury official now at
the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, said the latest
sanctions move was a strong step forward in the administration's
broader pressure campaign. "It's definitely a message to Beijing
and Moscow they can't continue to facilitate Pyongyang."
Analysts say efforts by the U.S. Attorney's office, which has
been working on similar cases focusing on North Korea's financial
conduits for more than a year, are proving a potent diplomatic
weapon in the White House's broader sanctions offensive.
Sanctions not only make it illegal for companies operating in
the U.S. to do business with designated entities, but are meant to
freeze those firms and individuals out of global markets. Banks,
for example, would no longer be able to clear any wire transfers
through the U.S., the world's most important financial market, for
any of those designated companies. And even though the asset
seizures may seem relatively small in the context of North Korea's
total cross-border trade and finance, the forfeiture actions are a
signal to other companies of the risks of doing business for
Pyongyang.
Write to Aruna Viswanatha at Aruna.Viswanatha@wsj.com and Ian
Talley at ian.talley@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 22, 2017 14:52 ET (18:52 GMT)
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