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Washington expects fresh U.S. sanctions against North Korea will be as painful to the leadership
as some very effective sanctions... that were slapped on the communist regime back in 2005.
The new set of sanctions are aimed at blocking any financial support from the outside world
to Pyongyang. Park Ji-won reports.
U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce says a new bill that passed the House
this week will hit the North Korean leadership hard.
In an interview with South Korea's Yonhap News Agency, Royce said the North Korea Sanctions
Enforcement Act will be as successful as previous U.S. sanctions on North Korea in 2005, known
as the BDA sanctions. The BDA sanctions are considered some of the
most effective ever placed on North Korea. They not only froze a key North Korean account
at the Banco Delta Asia in Macau,... but the measures also forced other financial institutions
to pull the plug on their dealings with Pyongyang. The sanctions were lifted later in nuclear
negotiations with the North. Royce says the new bill, like the previous
BDA sanctions,... aims to restrict North Korea's access to international financial institutions,...
by targeting foreign banks that facilitate the North's illicit trading like money laundering
and smuggling. The bill has a "secondary boycott" article,
which can sanction third-country financial institutions or companies,... for trading
with the North in violation of UN resolutions. The U.S. lawmaker stressed, however, that
the bill does not affect humanitarian aid to the North.
He emphasized the goal of the bill is to block the regime's financial support system.
The bill also includes seizing assets linked to North Korea's nuclear proliferation activities,
human rights violations,... and thorough inspection of North Korean cargo.
He also said Japan's independent lifting of some sanctions against the North is counterproductive
as the U.S. loses some leverage against North Korea.
Royce added the international community needs to move together in terms of imposing sanctions
against the North. The bill has to pass the Senate and be signed
by President Obama for it to become law. Park Ji-won, Arirang News.