THE US has clamped down on two Chinese shipping companies accused of helping North Korea dodge sanctions imposed over its nuclear weapons programme in a move which risks enraging leaders in Beijing and Pyongyang.
The crackdown comes as North Korean officials threaten to resume nuclear testing after talks between leader Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump collapsed before any agreement was reached. Washington said shipping giants Dalian Haibo International Freight and Liaoning Danxing International Forwarding were now banned from dealing with US companies and confirmed any US assets held by the companies would be frozen.
The US Treasury Department also issued an updated advisory listing 67 ships allegedly engaged in illicit transfers of refined petroleum with North Korean tankers or were believed to have exported North Korean coal.
It said Liaoning Danxing had "routinely used deceptive practices" to enable the work of North Korean procurement officials based in the European Union.
Evasion tactics employed by North Korea included disabling or manipulating automated identification systems, physically altering vessels, transferring cargoes between ships and falsifying cargo documentation.
Ports visited by vessels involved in ship-to-ship transfers included those in Taiwan, China, Russia and South Korea.
Treasury Department officials said North Korean ports received at least 263 tanker deliveries of refined petroleum via UN-prohibited ship-to-ship transfers.
The sanctions come just three weeks after a second meeting between Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un broke down over conflicting demands by North Korea for relief from sanctions and from the US side for Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons.
US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said: "The United States and our like-minded partners remain committed to achieving the final, fully verified denuclearisation of North Korea and believe that the full implementation of North Korea-related UN Security Council resolutions is crucial to a successful outcome.
Negotiations between the two sides have been in limbo since the Hanoi summit.
Washington said it wants to re-engage with Kim but North Korea has warned it is considering suspending talks and may rethink a freeze on missile and nuclear tests, in place since 2017, unless Washington makes concessions.