US President Barack Obama has issued an executive order imposing new sanctions on North Korea, after its allegedly illicit nuclear test and satellite launch. It freezes North Korean government property in America and bans US exports to, or investment in, North Korea. The order also greatly expands powers to blacklist anyone, including non-Americans, dealing with North Korea.
The 6th January nuclear test and 7th February satellite launch were said to be violative of existing UN sanctions. President Obama’s order includes measures from the recently agreed UN Security Council sanctions – the toughest sanctions in decades against North Korea. But it also contains separate sanctions passed by Congress and enacted by the President in February.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the US and the global community will not tolerate North Korea’s illicit nuclear and ballistic missile activities, and will continue to impose costs on North Korea until it comes into compliance with its international obligations. Mr Obama said the sanctions did not target the people of North Korea but suggested that the country’s leadership only had itself to blame.