The U.S. Treasury Department on Friday announced sanctions on three Russian companies and two related individuals for allegedly supporting North Korea's weapons development program, after Pyongyang was found to have recently tested a new intercontinental ballistic missile system.
"The DPRK continues to launch ballistic missiles in blatant violation of international law, posing a grave threat to global security," Brian Nelson, undersecretary of the Treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a press release.
DPRK is the acronym of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, North Korea's official name.
The sanctions will target, among others, Russian company Apollon OOO and its director for alleged involvement in aiding a North Korean defense industry-related procurement agent in Russia.
The sanctions block the assets held by the designated individuals and companies within the United States and prohibit their transactions with U.S. citizens.
The U.S. government had indicated Thursday that it would come up with fresh sanctions when it revealed that North Korea had tested a new ICBM system with its two most recent missile launches on Feb. 27 and Saturday.
It has strongly condemned the launches, saying they "needlessly raise tensions and risk destabilizing the security situation in the region."
North Korea has conducted nine series of missile tests so far this year. The country also hinted in January that it could resume nuclear and ICBM tests for the first time since 2017.
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