Kim Jong-un's rocket men hit with US sanctions over North Korea's nuclear missile program
Updated
Two of Kim Jong-un's right-hand men have been singled out for US sanctions because of their part in leading North Korea's nuclear missile program.
Key points:
- Kim Jong-sik and Ri Pyong-chol have been named as leaders of North Korea's missile program
- Both men are regularly photographed laughing with Kim Jong-un
- They were singled out days after the UN hit North Korea with more sanctions
On Boxing Day the US Treasury announced it would be targeting Kim Jong-sik and Ri Pyong-chol in the latest step in a campaign to press Pyongyang to give up its nuclear ambitions.
Both men are regularly seen in photos with Kim Jong-un celebrating missile tests.
Mr Ri is reported to be a leader of the country's intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) program which has potentially put major US cities in range of a nuclear strike.
Kim Jong-sik is reportedly a key figure in efforts to switch the country's missile program from liquid to solid fuel.
"Treasury is targeting leaders of North Korea's ballistic missile programs, as part of our maximum pressure campaign to isolate (North Korea) and achieve a fully denuclearised Korean Peninsula," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.
On Friday the United Nations Security Council imposed new sanctions on North Korea, further shutting down its ability to raise foreign currency.
The sanctions limit the country's access to refined petroleum products and crude oil and its earnings from workers abroad.
North Korea, which has been working to develop nuclear-armed missiles capable of hitting the United States, declared those steps to be an act of war and tantamount to a complete economic blockade against the country.
ABC/Reuters
Topics: unrest-conflict-and-war, korea-democratic-peoples-republic-of, united-states
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