Asia
28 ships included in new US sanctions against North Korea
The US administration of President Donald Trump is ratcheting up sanctions on North Korea with measures that hit shipping strongly, according to Reuters.
These actions, intended to discourage North Korea from its nuclear weapons program, involve the US Treasury targeting one person, 27 companies and 28 ships.
Sanctions prohibit US citizens from dealing with those entities. They also involve assets that those firms hold in the US being blocked.
One of the aims is to make it more difficult for North Korean ships to smuggle coal and other fuel imports.
The ships in question are flagged, registered or located in North Korea, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Panama, Taiwan, Tanzania, Comoros and the Marshall Islands.