US Issues Sanctions Targeting North Korean Weapons of Mass Destruction Program

A sign marks the US Treasury Department in Washington, US, August 6, 2018. REUTERS/Brian Snyder
A sign marks the US Treasury Department in Washington, US, August 6, 2018. REUTERS/Brian Snyder
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US Issues Sanctions Targeting North Korean Weapons of Mass Destruction Program

A sign marks the US Treasury Department in Washington, US, August 6, 2018. REUTERS/Brian Snyder
A sign marks the US Treasury Department in Washington, US, August 6, 2018. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

The United States on Friday imposed sanctions on two Russian banks, a North Korean company and a person it accused of supporting North Korea's weapons of mass destruction program, increasing pressure on Pyongyang over its renewed ballistic missile launches.

The latest American move came a day after China and Russia vetoed a US-led push to impose more United Nations sanctions on North Korea over its ballistic missile launches, publicly splitting the UN Security Council for the first time since it started punishing Pyongyang in 2006.

The vetoes came despite what the United States says was a sixth test of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) by North Korea this year and signs that Pyongyang is preparing to conduct its first nuclear test since 2017.

The US Treasury Department in a statement said it targeted Air Koryo Trading Corp as well as Russian financial institutions the Far Eastern Bank and Bank Sputnik for contributing to procurement and revenue generation for North Korean organizations.

Washington also designated Jong Yong Nam, a Belarus-based representative of an organization subordinate to the North Korea Second Academy of Natural Sciences (SANS), who Washington said has supported North Korean organizations linked to the development of ballistic missiles.

North Korea's mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"The United States will continue to implement and enforce existing sanctions while urging the DPRK (North Korea) to return to a diplomatic path and abandon its pursuit of weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles," the Treasury's Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Brian Nelson, said in the statement.



Iran, Israel Launch New Attacks after Tehran Rules out Nuclear Talks

20 June 2025, Israel, Rehovot: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) visits site of an Iranian missile attack on the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot. Photo: Avi Ohayon/GPO/dpa
20 June 2025, Israel, Rehovot: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) visits site of an Iranian missile attack on the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot. Photo: Avi Ohayon/GPO/dpa
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Iran, Israel Launch New Attacks after Tehran Rules out Nuclear Talks

20 June 2025, Israel, Rehovot: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) visits site of an Iranian missile attack on the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot. Photo: Avi Ohayon/GPO/dpa
20 June 2025, Israel, Rehovot: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) visits site of an Iranian missile attack on the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot. Photo: Avi Ohayon/GPO/dpa

Iran and Israel exchanged fresh attacks early on Saturday, a day after Tehran said it would not negotiate over its nuclear program while under threat and Europe tried to keep peace talks alive.
Shortly after 2:30 a.m. in Israel (2330 GMT on Friday), the Israeli military warned of an incoming missile barrage from Iran, triggering air raid sirens across parts of central Israel, including Tel Aviv, as well as in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Interceptions were visible in the sky over Tel Aviv, with explosions echoing across the metropolitan area as Israel’s air defense systems responded.
At the same time, Israel launched a new wave of attacks against missile storage and launch infrastructure sites in Iran, the Israeli military said.
Sirens also sounded in southern Israel, said Magen David Adom, Israel’s national emergency service. An Israeli military official said Iran had fired five ballistic missiles and that there were no immediate indications of any missile impacts.
There were no initial reports of casualties, Reuters reported.
The emergency service released images showing a fire on the roof of a multi-storey residential building in central Israel. Local media reported that the fire was caused by debris from an intercepted missile.
Israel began attacking Iran last Friday, saying its longtime enemy was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons. Iran, which says its nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes, retaliated with missile and drone strikes on Israel.
Israel is widely assumed to possess nuclear weapons. It neither confirms nor denies this.
Its air attacks have killed 639 people in Iran, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency, a US-based human rights organization that tracks Iran. The dead include the military's top echelon and nuclear scientists.
In Israel, 24 civilians have been killed in Iranian missile attacks, according to authorities.
Reuters could not independently verify casualty figures for either side.
TALKS SHOW LITTLE PROGRESS
Iran has repeatedly targeted Tel Aviv, a metropolitan area of around 4 million people and the country’s business and economic hub, where some critical military assets are also located.
Israel said it had struck dozens of military targets on Friday, including missile production sites, a research body it said was involved in nuclear weapons development in Tehran and military facilities in western and central Iran.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said there was no room for negotiations with the US "until Israeli aggression stops". But he arrived in Geneva on Friday for talks with European foreign ministers at which Europe hopes to establish a path back to diplomacy.
US President Donald Trump on Friday reiterated that he would take as long as two weeks to decide whether the United States should enter the conflict on Israel's side, enough time "to see whether or not people come to their senses", he said.
Trump said he was unlikely to press Israel to scale back its airstrikes to allow negotiations to continue.
"I think it's very hard to make that request right now. If somebody is winning, it's a little bit harder to do than if somebody is losing, but we're ready, willing and able, and we've been speaking to Iran, and we'll see what happens," he said.
The Geneva talks produced little signs of progress, and Trump said he doubted negotiators would be able to secure a ceasefire.
"Iran doesn't want to speak to Europe. They want to speak to us. Europe is not going to be able to help in this one," Trump said.
Hundreds of US citizens have fled Iran since the air war began, according to a US State Department cable seen by Reuters.
Israel's envoy to the United Nations, Danny Danon, told the Security Council on Friday his country would not stop its attacks "until Iran's nuclear threat is dismantled". Iran's UN envoy Amir Saeid Iravani called for Security Council action and said Tehran was alarmed by reports that the US might join the war.
Russia and China demanded immediate de-escalation.
A senior Iranian official told Reuters that Iran was ready to discuss limitations on uranium enrichment but that it would reject any proposal that bared it from enriching uranium completely, "especially now under Israel's strikes".