President
Trump on Thursday unveiled new economic sanctions targeting North
Korea’s banking and trade partners and some of the country’s industries,
but he left the door open to future dialogue with the Stalinist regime
of Kim Jong Un.
“Our
new executive order will cut off sources of revenue that fund North
Korea’s efforts to develop the deadliest weapons known to humankind,”
Trump told reporters. “In addition, what we will do is identify new
industries — including textiles, fishing, IT, and manufacturing — that
the Treasury Department can target with strong sanctions.”
President Trump during a meeting with the South Korean president and the
Japanese prime minister, Sept. 21, 2017. (Photo: Kevin
Lamarque/Reuters)
The
order empowers the Treasury Department to impose what are known as
“secondary sanctions” that target banks and companies that do business
with North Korea, a kind of bank shot that aims to tighten the vise on
Kim’s ability to fund his nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
“Foreign
banks will face a clear choice: Do business with the U.S. or facilitate
trade with the lawless regime in North Korea,” the president said.
Trump
also praised Chinese President Xi Jinping for his central bank’s
directive to Chinese financial institutions to stop doing business with
North Korea and its citizens, describing that decision as a “very bold
move” that was “somewhat unexpected.” China historically accounts for
the lion’s share of North Korea’s external banking and trade.
Trump’s
announcement came as he began a working lunch with Japanese Prime
Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Moon Jae-in on the
sidelines of the annual United Nations General Assembly — showcasing a
united front on the North Korean issue. Xi skipped the annual gathering,
as he typically does.
Asked whether negotiations with Kim were still possible, Trump replied, “Why not?
That appeared to be a departure from his position in late August, when he declared on Twitter, “Talking is not the answer.”
North
Korea recently tested a nuclear weapon that it says is a hydrogen bomb
and fired an intercontinental ballistic missile thought to be able to
reach the U.S. mainland. But questions remain about the reliability of
its guidance systems and whether it has devised the technology to
prevent its warheads from burning up upon reentry into the atmosphere.
It’s
not clear to what extent the new measures will change Kim’s behavior.
U.S. experts say the country sees its weapons programs as an insurance
policy to guarantee regime survival.
The
order bars ships and aircraft from U.S. soil and ports within 180 days
of being in North Korea. And it applies the same ban on vessels that
engaged in ship-to-ship transfers with a vessel that visited North
Korea. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin declined to say how many ships
and aircraft would be affected, but described such trade as “very
significant.”
The
president’s announcement came two days after he used his speech to
world leaders assembled at the United Nations to warn that the United
States will “totally destroy” North Korea if Washington is “forced to defend itself or its allies.”
“‘Rocket
Man’ is on a suicide mission for himself and for his regime,” Trump
said in the address, using his new mocking moniker for Kim. North Korea
responded that the president sounded like a barking dog.
Military
action against North Korea could leave millions of dead. Kim’s military
has South Korea’s capital, Seoul, in artillery range, and is thought to
have stockpiled chemical and biological weapons. And recent missile
tests have shown that its rockets could theoretically reach Tokyo.
Still, Defense Secretary James Mattis told reporters on Monday that
there were military options that might not put Seoul at grave risk. “But
I will not go into details,” Mattis added.
A photo purportedly showing North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center,
celebrating a missile launch. (Photo: Korean Central News Agency/Korea
News Service via AP)
Washington
has also been looking at a range of options for choking North Korea’s
economy and undermining Kim’s regime, including efforts to increase the
hermetic nation’s citizens’ ability to get information and entertainment from the outside world.
One
challenge regarding sanctions, U.S. officials say, is how to hurt North
Korea’s totalitarian government without overly punishing its citizens,
who have coped with repeated famines.
On
Wednesday, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told reporters there were
signs that the latest round of U.N. Security Council sanctions had
started to bite.
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