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New
US executive order to target foreign banks doing business with North
Korea – Trump
RT,
21
September, 2017
President
Donald Trump has signed an executive order that gives the US broad
new powers to sanction individuals, companies and financial
institutions that facilitate trade with North Korea.
"I
am announcing a new executive order to sign that significantly
expands authorities to target individuals, companies, financial
institutions that finance and facilitate trade with North
Korea,” Trump
said.
"Our
new executive order will cut off sources of revenue that fund North
Korea's efforts to develop the deadliest weapons known to
humankind," he
told reporters.
The
announcement by Trump was made ahead of a luncheon meeting with the
leaders of Japan and South Korea on the UN sidelines.
Trump also
said that China's Central Bank had ordered other Chinese banks to
stop doing business with North Korea.
National Security Adviser McMaster says #Trump will make a#NorthKorea sanctions-related announcement later todayon.rt.com/8nst
South Korean President Moon tells the #UNGA that sanctions were needed to bring #DPRK to the negotiating tableon.rt.com/8nst
He
said North Korea's textiles, fishing, information technology and
manufacturing industries were among possible targets.
Trump
said the measure would also disrupt other trade avenues for North
Korea, the idea being to halt its nuclear weapons program. The
president said "tolerance
for this disgraceful practice must end now."
During
the announcement on Thursday, Trump was asked by reporters if
dialogue was still possible with Pyongyang, and he replied"Why
not?"
The
UN Security Council has already passed substantial economic sanctions
against North Korea, including targeting shipments of oil and other
fuel used in missile testing, after Pyongyang reportedly tested a
hydrogen bomb.
Under
the UN resolution passed
on September 11, all oil imports are banned and international assets
of the government and its leaders have been frozen. The resolution
also banned North Korea from importing natural gas liquids and
condensates. It also bans all textile exports and prohibits any
country from authorizing new work permits for North Korean workers –
two key sources of hard currency for the country.
US
Ambassador Nikki Haley said those measures have "strangled
their economic situation" but
that it would "take
a little bit of time" for
the impact to be felt.
Haley
said the Trump administration believes the new sanctions combined
with previous measures would ban over 90 percent of North Korea’s
exports reported in 2016.
Resolution 2371,
passed in August 2017, banned all exports of coal, iron, lead, and
seafood. It also imposed new restrictions on North Korea’s Foreign
Trade Bank and prohibited any increase in the number of North Koreans
working in foreign countries.
US potential withdrawal from Iran deal to send ‘worst signal’ to Pyongyang – Nebenzia
Russian
Ambassador to the UN Vasilly Nebenzia. © Stephanie Keith /
Getty Images / AFP
If
Washington rips up Iran’s nuclear deal, it will send the wrong
message to North Korea and shake its faith in diplomacy, Russia’s
UN envoy Vassily Nebenzia said at the UN meeting on non-proliferation
of weapons of mass destruction.
"Iran
did find itself linked to DPRK [North Korea] because if the United
States leaves the JCPOA [nuclear deal] this will be the worst signal
we can send to North Korea," Nebenzia said.
He
also called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – the
landmark deal between five permanent UN Security Council members plus
Germany with Iran – a “symbol of the triumph of multi-party
diplomacy.”
Nebenzia
went on stress that the deal serves as an example that even the most
complex international issues can be solved through negotiations,
provided there is enough political will.
He
lamented that “recently, we have seen irresponsible, unilateral
attempts to derail this breakthrough, collective agreement,” while
expressing hope that the “reason prevails” and the JCPOA will
stay intact and be implemented in full.
Responding
to US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s allegations that Russia is
impeding efforts aimed at the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons,
including by “seeking to weaken the International Atomic Energy
Agency’s independence in investigating clandestine nuclear
programs,” Nebenzia said the claims took him aback.
“It
was a surprise today to learn from the Secretary of State that Russia
is undermining the IAEA, this is of course something new to us,” he
said.
Speaking
at the meeting, Tillerson accused Moscow of intention to “weaken
global norms and undercut efforts to hold nations accountable.”
With that he did not specify what nations Moscow allegedly helped.
The
US top diplomat further called on the Russian government to abide by
its commitments on nuclear security and arms control, if “Russia
wants to restore its role as a credible actor in resolving the
situation with North Korea.”
For
his part, Nebenzia pointed out that the situation on the Korean
Peninsula is at risk of spinning out of control at any minute, adding
that diplomatic efforts are needed immediately to stop the crisis.
“It’s
time to start now, without losing any time, not waiting when the
logic of confrontation prevails,” he said. The diplomat argued that
the lack of a common security mechanism in northeastern Asia, the
nuclear program development by Pyongyang, as well as rampant military
activity in the region justified by it, are all to blame in the
current flare-up of tensions.
Meanwhile,
North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, fired back at US President
Donald Trump’s belligerent rhetoric on North Korea. In a speech at
the UN General Assembly earlier this week, Trump threatened to
totally destroy North Korea in case of military confrontation between
the two countries, while labelling Kim a “rocket man… on a
suicide mission.”
Trump’s
warmongering speech only persuaded Kim that he is on the right
course, the North Korean leader was quoted as saying.
“His
[Trump] remarks which described the US option through straightforward
expression of his will have convinced me, rather than frightening or
stopping me, that the path I chose is correct and that it is the one
I have to follow to the last,” Kim said in a statement, distributed
by the country’s state-run KCNA news agency, calling Trump’s
behavior “mentally deranged” and vowing to respond to “the most
ferocious declaration of war in history” with the “highest level
of hardline countermeasure in history.”
Russian Minister Of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov Speech To UN
Russia
rebukes Trump, says to ‘defend’ Iran nuclear deal
Trump
Speech won't solve Korea Crisis! Lavrov Explains
NEWS
CONFERENCE with Ambassador Nikki Haley on NORTH KOREA/IRAN 9/21/17
Right
Side Broadcasting Network
China's central bank tells banks to stop doing business with North Korea: sources
21
September, 2017
BEIJING/HONG
KONG (Reuters) - China’s central bank has told banks to strictly
implement United Nations sanctions against North Korea, four sources
told Reuters, amid U.S. concerns that Beijing has not been tough
enough over Pyongyang’s repeated nuclear tests.
Tensions
between the United States and North Korea have ratcheted up after the
sixth and most powerful nuclear test conducted by Pyongyang on Sept.
3 prompted the United Nations Security Council to impose further
sanctions last week.
Chinese
banks have come under scrutiny for their role as a conduit for funds
flowing to and from China’s increasingly isolated neighbor.
The
sources said banks were told to stop providing financial services to
new North Korean customers and to wind down loans with existing
customers, following tighter sanctions against Pyongyang by the
United Nations.
The
sources said lenders were asked to fully implement United Nations
sanctions against North Korea and were warned of the economic losses
and reputational risks if they did not do so.
Chinese
banks received the document on Monday, the sources said.
China’s
central bank did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“At
present, management of North Korea-related business has become an
issue of national-level politics and national security,” according
to the document seen by the sources.
The
document directed banks to explain to any North Korean customers that
“our bank is fulfilling our international obligations and
implementing United Nations sanctions against North Korea. As such,
we refuse to handle any individual loans connected to North Korea.”
The
document did not specify whether existing North Korean account
holders could still deposit or remove money from their accounts.
U.S.
President Donald Trump ordered new sanctions on Thursday that open
the door wider to blacklisting people and entities doing business
with North Korea, including its shipping and trade networks, further
tightening the screws on Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile program.
Trump
stopped short of going after North Korea’s biggest trading partner,
China, and praised its central bank for ordering Chinese banks to
stop doing business with North Korea.
Frustrated
that China had not done more to rein in North Korea, the Trump
administration considered new sanctions in July on small Chinese
banks and other firms doing business with Pyongyang, two senior U.S.
officials told Reuters.
China’s
Big Four state-owned banks have stopped providing financial services
to new North Korean clients, Reuters reported last week, with some
measures beginning as early as the end of last year.
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