Trump decides against more North Korea sanctions at this time: source
Reuters
Published Mar 22, 2019 07:56PM ET
Trump decides against more North Korea sanctions at this time: source
By Roberta Rampton
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said he has decided against imposing new large-scale sanctions on North Korea in a confusing tweet that seemed to imply he was reversing measures against two Chinese shipping companies, a U.S. administration source familiar with the matter said.
The confusion began when Trump said on Twitter that he had "ordered the withdrawal" of "additional large-scale sanctions" on North Korea that had been "announced today by the U.S. Treasury."
But there were no new U.S. sanctions on North Korea announced on Friday, leading news organizations, lawmakers and experts to believe Trump was referring to the Treasury's blacklisting on Thursday of two Chinese shipping companies that it said helped North Korea evade sanctions over its nuclear weapons program.
The sanctions on Thursday were the first since his second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi last month, which collapsed over conflicting demands by Pyongyang for sanctions relief and by Washington for North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons.
The Trump administration did not respond to queries to explain what Trump meant in his tweet for more than five hours.
Shortly after Trump's tweet, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders explained it by saying: "President Trump likes Chairman Kim and he doesn't think these sanctions will be necessary."
But she did not specify which sanctions Trump spoke of.
The administration source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Trump's tweet had nothing to do with the Thursday sanctions, but rather was meant to refer to a decision to not go forward with additional large-scale sanctions on North Korea at this time.
There has been no sign of direct contact between Washington and Pyongyang since the collapse of the Feb. 27-28 summit, though Trump has stressed his good personal relationship with Kim and his administration has said repeatedly it is willing to reengage.
North Korea has warned it is considering suspending talks and may rethink a freeze on missile and nuclear tests, in place since 2017, unless Washington makes concessions.Hours after Thursday's sanctions announcement, North Korea on Friday pulled out of a liaison office with South Korea, a major setback for Seoul, which has pushed hard for engagement between Washington and Pyongyang.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on March 4 he was hopeful he could send a team to North Korea "in the next couple of weeks," but there has been no sign of a North Korean willingness to extend such an invitation.
ATTEMPT TO DEFUSE TENSIONS?
Harry Kazianis of the conservative Center for the National Interest think tank said Trump's tweet could be an effort to defuse tensions that seemed to be building between Washington and Pyongyang and the risk of North Korea pulling out of talks.
Get The News You Want
"Trump's canceling out of sanctions might have been a bid to get North Korea to change its thinking," he said.
Another North Korea expert, Bruce Klingner, said that while Thursday's Treasury action was limited, an accompanying notice seemed to hint of stronger future actions.
Klingner said Trump's move signaled that his "maximum pressure" sanctions campaign on North Korea was not going to get any stronger and recalled an announcement the president made before a first summit with Kim in June last year when he said he was putting a large list of planned sanctions on hold.
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.