Late this week, the U.S. announced the largest North Korea-related sanctions tranche to date, aimed at disrupting North Korean shipping and trading companies and vessels to further isolate the regime and pressure the country into giving up its nuclear and missile programs. 

The new action targets one individual, 27 entities, and 28 vessels located, registered, or flagged in North Korea, China, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Marshall Islands, Tanzania, Panama, and Comoros. The U.S. Dept. of the Treasury, along with the U.S. Dept. of State and U.S. Coast Guard, also issued an advisory alerting the public to the significant sanctions risks to those continuing to enable shipments of goods to and from North Korea.

The sanctions are targeted at sources of fuel and cash for Pyongyang.

President Trump personally warned that "phase two" could be "very, very unfortunate for the world" if the steps did not work.

Read the U.S. Dept. of the Treasury sanctions press statement:

https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sm0297

Read the U.S. Dept. of the Treasury North Korea Vessel Advisory

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In an overnight response, N. Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued the following press statement:

Respected Supreme Leader Comrade Kim Jong Un affirmed his will in his New Year Address to make strenuous efforts to improve inter-Korean relations, create a peaceful environment on the Korean peninsula and ensure a successful holding of Phyongchang Winter Olympics.

Thanks to our supreme leadership's noble love for the nation and strong determination for peace, long-awaited inter-Korean dialogue and cooperation have been realized and the Olympics took place successfully by the inter-Korean collaboration.

However, on the eve of closing of the Olympics, United States is running amok to bring another dark cloud of confrontation and war over the Korean peninsula by announcing enormous sanctions against the DPRK.

Trump has announced new sanctions, the core of which is to completely block the DPRK's maritime trade with other countries, and he openly threatened us by making wild remarks that if the said sanctions do not work, "very rough phase 2" will be operated.

Trump group's attempt itself to threaten us by such sanctions or wild remarks only reveals its ignorance about us.

We came to possess nuclear weapons, the treasured sword of justice, in order to defend ourselves from such threats from the United States.

As we have stated on numerous occasions, we will consider any type of blockade an act of war against us, and if U.S. has indeed the guts to confront us in "rough" manner, we will not necessarily take the trouble to stop it.

If U.S. ignores all of our sincere efforts for improving inter-Korean relations and for preserving peace and stability on the Korean peninsula, as desired by the nation, and doggedly persists instead in provocation against us, we will have a tight grip on U.S. and deal with it with our own way of counteraction, no matter how rough and hysterical the U.S. moves are.

If tension on the Korean peninsula escalates into a brink of war due to the U.S. reckless actions, all the catastrophic consequences resulting therefrom will be borne by the United States.

https://kcnawatch.co/newstream/1519552880-562768098/u-s-hit-for-bringing-clouds-of-war-to-hang-over-korean-peninsula/