US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order imposing new sanctions on North Korea, days after he threatened to “totally destroy” the nuclear-armed nation.
Speaking at United Nations headquarters in New York City on Thursday, Trump said the order would increase the American ability to clamp down on individuals and companies that do business with North Korea.
Flanked at a table by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, Trump made the announcement before meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Moon Jae-in at a lunch.
US allies – Japan and South Korea — have called for enforcing existing international sanctions as the best way to get Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons program.
Trump said he had authorized the Department of the Treasury to “target any individual or entity that conducts…