Obama Punches North Korea In The Nose With Strong Sanctions

North Korea’s chinless leader, Kim Jong-Un, is finding that being an arrogant, hard-headed ass with nukes has its drawbacks.

On Wednesday, President Obama signed an executive order implementing U.N.-backed sanctions against North Korea that target the country’s energy, financial, and shipping assets. The order freezes North Korean government property in the United States and bans U.S. imports to North Korea, as well as U.S. investments in the small Far Eastern nation. The order also greatly expands powers to blacklist anyone, including non-Americans, who conducts business with North Korea.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said of President Obama’s decision to impose North Korean sanctions:

“The U.S. and the global community will not tolerate North Korea’s illicit nuclear and ballistic missile activities, and we will continue to impose costs on North Korea until it comes into compliance with its international obligations.”

north korea sanctions us nuclear ballistic missiles
Kim Jong-Un (center), Supreme Leader of North Korea. Image by Zennie Abraham, available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic license.

According to the White House, President Obama’s executive order comes in response to North Korea’s Jan. 6 nuclear test and  Feb. 6 ballistic missile test. The executive order implements sanctions adopted by the U.N. Security Council and Congress, who last month passed the North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act.

Despite conflict between the two nations that can be traced back decades, the United States has not imposed a strong trade ban on North Korea. The United States has, however, imposed strong trade bans with Myanmar and Iran in the past.

The timing of President Obama’s executive order is interesting, to say the least. The imposing of sanctions on North Korea coincides with the North Korean government having sentenced an American student, 21-year-old Otto Warmbier, to 15 years of hard labor for trying to steal a propaganda sign while visiting the nation in January. The United States and South Korea are also holding their annual military drills this month, which always seems to be a source of tension with a nation that is still, technically, at war with the United States.

This year, the North Korean government has threatened to launch a “pre-emptive nuclear strike of justice” against the United States and South Korea.

If Kim Jong-Un wanted the world’s attention, now he has it.

Featured image is a YouTube screengrab.

[H/T Raw Story]

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