US to target firms doing business with North Korea, Trump says

US President Donald Trump on Thursday paved the way for sanctions against foreign companies doing business with North Korea, a dramatic ratcheting up of pressure on the regime.

Tightening an economic noose around  the Pyongyang regime, Trump said he had signed an executive order allowing sanctions against “individuals and companies that finance and facilitate trade with North Korea.”

The measure could force Chinese banks or Russian importers to decide between doing business with North Korea or being blacklisted by the United States.

“Our new executive order will cut off sources of revenue that fund North Korea’s efforts to develop the deadliest weapons known to humankind,” Trump said.

Such sanctions were previously used on Iran, with many companies deciding to scrap trade with Tehran for fear of being frozen out of the US financial system.

Until now the United States has shied away from taking the same tough stance against North Korea, but the Trump administration has signaled it is not willing to accept Pyongyang’s continued provocations.