US sanctions Chinese, Russians over N. Korea support

The United States slaps sanctions on 16 Chinese and Russian individuals and companies, accusing them of supporting North Korea’s nuclear program and attempting to evade US sanctions.

“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 says in a statement.

The Treasury Department, which oversees US sanctions programs, says those targeted by the sanctions had helped people known to support the North’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, or had traded in North Korean energy, exploited its workers or acted as a conduit to the international financial system.

The sanctions effectively block their targets from accessing much of the global financial system, as well as freezing any US assets.

— AFP