U.S. has a "tool" to halt North Korea's nuclear progress?

-U.S. has a "tool" to halt North Korea's nuclear progress?

On August 24, 2017 it was said the U.S. government is trying to end companies that are doing business with North Korea in violation of United Nations sanctions. They are targeting Chinese banks that facilitate Pyongyang's trade in arms and other banned goods. By doing so, they strongly believe that it will eventually force Pyongyang to give up its nuclear and missile programs. On Tuesday night , the Trump administration banished sixteen Chinese, Russian and Singaporean companies and any individuals for trading entities, including in coal, oil and metals. However, Joseph DeThomas, a former State Department official who worked on Iran and North Korea sanctions said "Once we go down the road of hitting a Chinese bank that is deeply connected to the U.S. financial system, things will begin to move very fast and be quite unpredictable." He's concerned because China is the world's second-largest economy and it's United States' largest trading partner. If something goes wrong it makes the United States vulnerable to any retaliation by Beijing. Just earlier that month, China signed on to new United Nation sanction on North Korea that banned the export of iron, coal, lead, and seafood.

According to CBS News in a small article it said "Targeting those banks with measures known as "secondary sanctions" could effectively bar them from making U.S. dollar transactions or moving money through U.S. banks, a death knell for most financial institutions, or subject them to huge fines like those levied on European banks accused of failing to follow sanctions on Iran's nuclear and missile programs. China hawks within the Trump administration who have been frustrated by Beijing's perceived inaction on North Korea have been pressing for secondary sanctions.

But a more moderate, pro-business faction, including Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Trump's chief economic adviser Gary Cohn, is concerned about the impact such sanctions would have on the economic relationship with Beijing.

More Information on this topic:

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-missiles-usa-sanctions-idUSKCN1B4267

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/05/north-korea-testing-nuclear-weapons-170504072226461.html

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-11813699

Discussion Questions:

• How much more advanced do you think North Koreas nuclear weapons are compared to the United States?
• By banning the trading of these most important goods do you think it affects the U.S.?
• What is your opinion on this issue?