U.S. announces sanctions against North Korean missile experts

The United Statesannounced sanctions against two of North Korea's most prominentofficials behind its ballistic missile program on Tuesday, whileRussia reiterated an offer to mediate to ease tension betweenWashington and Pyongyang.

The new U.S. steps were the latest in a campaign aimed atforcing North Korea which has defied years of multilateral andbilateral sanctionsto abandon a weapons program aimed atdeveloping nuclear-tipped missiles capable of hitting the UnitedStates.

"Treasury is targeting leaders of North Korea's ballisticmissile programs, as part of our maximum pressure campaign toisolate (North Korea) and achieve a fully denuclearized KoreanPeninsula,"Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in astatement.

• North Korea calls latest UN sanctions 'act of war'
• UN unanimouslyOKsstiffer sanctions against North Korea

The move followed new United Nations sanctions announcedlast Friday in response to North Korea's Nov. 29 test of an ICBMthat Pyongyang said put all of the U.S. mainland within range ofits nuclear weapons. Those sanctions sought to further limitNorth Korea's access to refined petroleum products and crude oiland its earnings from workers abroad.

North Korea declared the UNsteps to be an act of war andtantamount to a complete economic blockade.

The standoff between the United States and North Korea hasraised fears of a new conflict on the Korean peninsula, whichhas remained in a technical state of war since the 1950-53Korean War ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.

The United States has said that all options, includingmilitary ones, are on the table in dealing with North Korea. Itsays it prefers a diplomatic solution, but that North Korea hasgiven no indication it is willing to discuss denuclearization.

Leading experts in weapons

The U.S. Treasury named the targeted officials as Kim Jong-sikand Ri Pyong-chol. It said Kim was reportedly a major figurein North Korea's efforts to switch its missile program fromliquid to solid fuel, while Ri was reported to be a key officialin its intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) development.

The largely symbolic steps block any property or intereststhe two might have within U.S. jurisdiction and prohibit anydealings by U.S. citizens with them.

With their ruling Workers Party, military and scientificcredentials, the men are two of three top experts consideredindispensable to North Korea's rapidly developing weaponsprograms.

Photographs and television footage show that the men areclearly among North Korean leader Kim Jong-un'sfavourites.Their behaviour with him is sharply at variance with theobsequiousness of other senior aides, most of whom bow and holdtheir hands over their mouths when speaking to the young leader.

Ri is one of the most prominent aides, and likely representsthe Workers Party on the missile program, experts say.

Official hastiesto Russia

Born in 1948, Ri was partly educated in Russia and promotedwhen Kim Jong-un started to rise through the ranks in the late2000s.

Ri has visited China once and Russia twice. He met China'sdefence minister in 2008 as the air force commander andaccompanied Kim Jong-il on a visit to a Russian fighter jetfactory in 2011, according to state media.

Kim Jong-sik is a prominent rocket scientist who rose afterplaying a role in North Korea's first successful launch of arocket in 2012.

He started his career as a civilian aeronautics technician,but now wears the uniform of a military general at the MunitionsIndustry Department, according to experts and the South Koreangovernment.

Many other details, including his age, are not known.

Kremlin offer

On Tuesday, the Kremlin, which has long called for theUnited States and North Korea to negotiate, said it was ready toact as a mediator if the two sides were willing for it to playsuch a role.

• Russia ready to mediate North Korea-U.S. talks

"Russia's readiness to clear the way for de-escalation isobvious," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

Asked to comment on the offer, a spokesman for the U.S.State Department, Justin Higgins, said the United States "hasthe ability to communicate with North Korea through a variety ofdiplomatic channels,"and added:

"We want the North Korean regime to understand that there isa different path that it can choose, however it is up to NorthKorea to change course and return to credible negotiations."

• Tillerson, White House differ on North Korea talks

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who made a similaroffer on Monday, told U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in aphone call on Tuesday that "Washington's aggressive rhetoric"and beefing up of its military presence in the region hadheightened tension and was unacceptable, his ministry said.

Lavrov underscored the need for "the fastest move to thenegotiating process from the language of sanctions,"it said.

Another U.S. State Department spokesman, Michael Cavey, saidWashington remained open to talks, but the onus was on NorthKorea "to take sincere and meaningful actions towarddenuclearization and refrain from further provocations."

South Korea'sunification ministry forecast on Tuesday thatNorth Korea would look to open negotiations with the UnitedStates next year while continuing to seek recognition as a defacto nuclear power.

The United States has stressed the need for all countries,especially Russia, and China North Korea's main tradingpartner to fully implement sanctions, including by cutting offoil supplies.

Chinese exports of fuel, corn decline

According to Chinese customs data, China exported no oilproducts to North Korea in November, apparently going above andbeyond UNsanctions imposed earlier in the year.

China also imported no North Korean iron ore, coal or leadin November, the second full month of those trade sanctions, thedata showed.

China has not disclosed its crude exports to North Korea forseveral years, but industry sources say it still supplies about520,000 tonnes, or 3.8 million barrels, a year to the countryvia an aging pipeline.

North Korea also sources some of its oil from Russia.

Trade between North Korea and China has slowed through theyear, particularly after China banned coal purchases inFebruary.

Chinese exports of corn to North Korea in November alsoslumped, down 82 per cent from a year earlier to 100 tonnes, thelowest since January. Exports of rice plunged 64 per cent to 672tonnes, the lowest since March.