Trump to Announce Harsh New Sanctions Against North Korea

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump was set to announce harsh new shipping sanctions against North Korea on Friday — a clear signal, coming near the end of an Olympic Games marked by a rapprochement on the Korean Peninsula, that his pressure campaign against Pyongyang would not relent.

“Today, I am announcing that we are launching the largest-ever set of new sanctions on the North Korean regime,” Trump was scheduled to say, according to an advance copy of remarks he will deliver later Friday at the Conservative Political Action Conference.

“The Treasury Department will soon be taking new action to further cut off sources of revenue and fuel that the regime uses to fund its nuclear program and sustain its military by targeting 56 vessels, shipping companies, and trade businesses that are assisting North Korea in evading sanctions,” Trump was scheduled to say.

The timing of his announcement was notable, coming just hours after South Korea’s president, Moon Jae-in, played host at a dinner to Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, who is leading the U.S. delegation to the closing ceremony of the games Sunday.

Under Moon’s liberal government, South Korea has begun engaging with the North.

Vice President Mike Pence first announced the sanctions during a stop in Japan two weeks ago before he visited the games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The sanctions, which Pence warned would be the toughest yet, were designed to reinforce the vice president’s effort to blunt a charm offensive by North Korea at the games.

“We will not allow North Korean propaganda to hijack the message and imagery of the Olympic Games,” Pence said at the time. “We will not allow North Korea to hide behind the Olympic banner the reality that they enslave their people and threaten the wider region.”