Global Geopolitical Series: U.S. imposes new sanctions on North Korea over chemical weapons’ use in Kim Jong-nam’s assassination

The United States continues to double down on North Korea despite all the possible progress made in achieving peace in the Korean Peninsula. Just after the Peace Olympic, where both North and South Korean athletes marched together under unification flag, the United States announced new sanctions on North Korea involving one person, several enteritis, and as many as 27 ships.

And this week, after South Korean delegates met with North Korea’s supreme leader Kim Jong-Un for the first time since he came to power. As the meeting was hailed as successful, the United States announced a new round of sanctions on North Korea in response to the killing of Kim Jong-Nam, the half-brother of North Korea’s Supreme leader Kim Jong-un using a chemical agent, which is banned for use in an assassination. Here is the full statement from the U.S. state department,

“On February 22, 2018, the United States determined under the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991 (CBW Act) that the Government of North Korea used the chemical warfare agent VX to assassinate Kim Jong Nam, in the Kuala Lumpur airport.

These sanctions are in addition to existing U.S. comprehensive sanctions against targeting unlawful North Korean activities. The sanctions took effect upon publication of this determination in the Federal Register on March 5, 2018.

The United States strongly condemns the use of chemical weapons to conduct an assassination. This public display of contempt for universal norms against chemical weapons use further demonstrates the reckless nature of North Korea and underscores that we cannot afford to tolerate a North Korean WMD program of any kind.”