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U.S. imposes sanctions on North Koreans, Russian, after missile tests

12 January 2022 23:37 (UTC +04:00)

The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on six North Koreans, one Russian and a Russian firm it said were responsible for procuring goods from Russia and China for North Korea's weapons programs, an action that follows a series of North Korean missile launches, including two since last week, APA reports quoting Reuters.

The U.S. Treasury Department said the steps aimed to prevent the advancement of North Korea's weapons programs and impede its attempts to proliferate weapons technologies.

The sanctions were the first specifically targeting North Korea's weapons programs imposed by the Biden administration, which has sought unsuccessfully to engage Pyongyang in dialogue to persuade it to give up its nuclear bombs and missiles.

A Treasury Department statement said the sanctions followed six North Korean ballistic missile launches since September, each of which it said violated U.N. Security Council resolutions.