US sanctions Chinese firm tied to North Korea's nuclear programme

Washington

THE United States said on Monday that it had sanctioned a Chinese industrial machinery and equipment wholesaler, a new step in tightening the financial noose around North Korea's nuclear programme after its fifth nuclear test this month.

The US Treasury said that it was sanctioning Dandong Hongxiang Industrial Development Co (DHID) and four of its executives, including the firm's founder, Ma Xiaohong, under US regulations targeting proliferators of weapons of mass destruction.

It accused the firm of acting on behalf of North Korea's Korea Kwangson Banking Corp (KKBC), which has been under US and UN sanctions for supporting proliferation of such weapons.

The US Department of Justice said that it had filed criminal charges against the Chinese firm and the executives for using front companies to evade sanctions on North Korea's nuclear weapons an…