THREATS FROM NORTH KOREA: US seeks to impose direct sanctions targeting Chinese banks

The United States is seeking to impose about twelve Chinese banks doing businesses with North Korea.

Ed Royce, Chairman of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee, says a list with the targeted Chinese entities has been handed over to the US government, adding that it is time to impse the harshest pressure following the regime's nuclear test.

Sources say Washington is currently reviewing the option of having North Korea return to the negotiating table as it did in 2005.

Meanwhile, US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is visiting a US military base home to nuclear-capable bombers and ICBMs. His visit to Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota comes less than two weeks after the North's nuclear test.

The trip was scheduled before the Korean Peninsula's nuclear test but it gives an opportunity for the US to highlight its powerful strategic arsenal.

South Korean government, meanwhile, said today that it is considering providing 8 million dollars in aid to North Korea through international organizations. According to the unification ministry, the government plans to hold a meeting on inter-Korean cooperation next week to finalize the plan.

Seoul suspended its aid to North Korea through UN agencies after the North's nuclear and missile tests last year.

Source: Arirang News