Lifting Sanctions

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Washington made it clear that it is strongly against Pyongyang's demand to lift sanctions. The United States further upped its pressure on North Korea, saying that it would not only keep the sanctions in place, but also would block all North Korean attempts to avoid sanctions.

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The U.S. Assistant Secretary of State in charge of North Korea's nuclear and missile issues said that Washington would work together with its allies to completely block Pyongyang's attempt to avoid sanctions.

[Soundbite] Christopher Ford(U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Int'l Security and Non-proliferation)

He explained that such efforts aim to cut off the funds that North Korea is trying to secure for sanctions evasion.

[Soundbite] Christopher Ford(U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Int'l Security and Non-proliferation)

He referred to North Korea's illicit ship-to-ship transfer for toughening marine surveillance with America's partner nations and said that the U.S. is punishing individuals and businesses involved in these illegal activities. Japanese Prime Minister Abe, who attended the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Singapore on the day of Assistant Secretary Ford's remarks, agreed with the U.S. by saying that the nations in the region must work together to prevent North Korea from evading sanctions by transferring goods between ships on the sea. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Ford explained that the goal is not to allow North Korea to trick U.S. allies to relax or remove sanctions and not create a situation that would make North Korea believe that denuclearization is unnecessary. He said that he would clearly show that not taking actions to denuclearize is not an option and that sanctions will remain in place until North Korea denuclearizes. As the two sides try to set a date for a summit after a postponement, Washington is getting tougher on easing North Korea sanctions.