Sanctioned By US: Kim Jong Un And North Korean Leaders Blacklisted For Human Rights Abuses
CNN is reporting that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been directly sanctioned by the United States for the first time and placed on a blacklist for human rights abuses.
The report states that ten other regime officials have also been sanctioned by the U.S. for being complicit in human rights abuses.
Adam Szubin who is the acting treasury under-secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, clarified the reason for the sanctions.
“Under Kim Jong Un, North Korea continues to inflict intolerable cruelty and hardship on millions of its own people, including extrajudicial killings, forced labor and torture.”
Those sanctioned by the U.S. are for the first time being publicly named, which the report says is quite revealing, considering how secretive a society and its leadership are.
North Korea is condemned for human rights abuses by a U.N. committee. https://t.co/SswoRxPlUk pic.twitter.com/xK3Yb13Etc
— [ North Korea News ] (@goinnorthkorea) November 18, 2014
These new sanctions appear to be the next step from United States’ recent attempt since North Korea was last sanctioned by the U.S. earlier this year, as those countries who once did business with what is often referred to as the “hermit kingdom” were under threat of being penalized by the US for doing so.
The sanctions also target five government ministries and departments in the country.
A report by Reuters also says that there are more sanctions to come, but it also refers to Zachary Goldman, a former policy adviser for the same office that Szubin is in, who feels these new sanctions will make the relationship between the US and North Korea difficult.
“There probably isn’t much of a hope for a diplomatic resolution.”
North Korea has made headlines for its determination to conduct nuclear tests and rocket launches, which have also been reported as failing, but they still pose a threat to U.S. ally South Korea, which has been targeted recently for blasting propaganda through speakers from across the border.
The two countries are still considered to be in conflict since the Korean war.
North Korea has also been mentioned by the presumptive presidential nominee for the Republican Party, Donald Trump, who likely as a reaction to the country being sanctioned by the U.S. over the years has offered to negotiate with leader Kim Jong Un rather than impose more sanctions.
China and Russia are two countries who have long had trade and finance relations with North Korea, but after being sanctioned by the U.S., they appear to have changed their habits and been somewhat cooperative, which is detailed in a report filed by The Inquisitr earlier this year.Even though this might very well be the case, Russia itself has also been sanctioned by the US — as recently as this year — and has already faced some of the strictest sanctions imposed on a country.
An op-ed published by Washington Post refers to a blog which refers to satellite imagery that shows what appears to be a significant reduction of trade over the China-North Korean border, suggesting that they might be cooperating with the strict sanctions.
From @JoshRogin over the weekend: Satellite imagery suggests China is secretly punishing North Korea – https://t.co/nONCtrT07z #FPIMustReads
— FPI (@ForeignPolicyI) July 6, 2016
China doesn’t appear to have any interest in letting North Korea get out of hand, as Kim Jong Un reportedly had his uncle Jang Song Thaek executed in 2013; Song Thaek was the main established contact between both countries.
China’s relationship with North Korea is also said to be tense due to their missile tests and the op-ed suggests that China is secretly following the US’s demands, to no longer be a trade partner with North Korea, even as they publicly defy the United States to look as a defiant super power.
Russia has also responded with some concerns to the US’s efforts to place ICBM missiles at the South Korean border, as a sign of aggression against all countries in the region.
Reuters reported back in February when the US military test fired their ICBMs in California in order to give an example of what North Korea could be up against if it continues to threaten the South despite being heavily sanctioned by the US.
[Image by Ahn Young-joon/AP Photo]