WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Treasury Department has unveiled new economic sanctions against North Korea, seeking to punish Pyongyang for recent nuclear and missile tests.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters on March 16 that the sanctions were unilateral, following through on a recent UN Security Council resolution that condemned the tests.
North Korea launched a ballistic missile last month, in defiance of earlier UN resolutions, and claimed to have tested a hydrogen bomb in January.
Washington and other nations have hit North Korea with sanctions repeatedly in the past, seeking to curb its weapons programs, but Pyongyang has continued to be defiant.