US targets Chinese firms in new North Korea sanctions

​The US has imposed ​​more sanctions on North Korea as well as​ Chinese firms that trade with the regime, as part of its campaign t​​o convince Pyongyang to abandon its missile and nuclear weapons programs. The Treasury on Tuesday unveiled sanctions on one Chinese individual, 13 entities that included four Chinese trading companies, and 20 shipping vessels that it says are helping North Korea evade UN sanctions, the Financial Times reports. Steven Mnuchin, Treasury secretary, said the US was “steadfast in our determination to maximize economic pressure to isolate it from outside sources of trade and revenue.” The so-called secondary sanctions on Chinese companies were imposed on Dandong Kehua Economy and Trade, Dandong Xianghe Trading and Dandong Hongda Trade. Treasury said the firms exported $650m worth of goods to North Korea from 2013 until the end of August this year. China criticized the move, which comes less than two weeks after Donald Trump visited Xi Jinping.