Senators Push for Increased Sanctions on North Korea

Source: Senator Ben Sasse (R-NE)

Washington, D.C. - August 31, 2017 (The Ponder News) -- As North Korea continues its unacceptable provocations, U.S. Senators Ben Sasse (R-NE) and Joe Donnelly (D-IN) continue to push for increased sanctions on both North Korea and China designed to crack down on the rogue regime’s weapons program. Sasse and Donnelly sent a letter today to Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-ID) and Ranking Member Sherrod Brown (D-OH) outlining recent findings on North Korean sanctions and outlining key questions for future full committee hearings. Sasse and Donnelly serve as Ranking Member and Chairman of the Senate Banking Subcommittee on National Security and International Trade and Finance.

Building on a May subcommittee hearing, Sasse and Donnelly encouraged the Banking Committee to push the Administration on its options to expand sanctions and highlight the additional tools available to punish North Korea and those who assist in their illegal activity.

Sasse and Donnelly said in their letter, in part, “As you plan the Banking Committee’s schedule for the coming months, we welcome your consideration of a full committee hearing on sanctions against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)…On May 10, 2017, the Banking Subcommittee on National Security and International Trade and Finance held a hearing on ‘Secondary Sanctions against Chinese Institutions: Assessing Their Utility for Constraining North Korea.’

“…there is a strong consensus that the level of pressure necessary to get the Kim regime to the table, let alone reach an agreement, will be extraordinarily high and must be coupled with a full court diplomatic effort with our allies and with China directly to persuade China to engage more directly with the DPRK. It is our shared belief that the current multilateral sanctions may be insufficient to achieve this goal, even after the progress made at the United Nations in August. Continued U.S. engagement and leadership will therefore be critical in the months ahead and must include a comprehensive effort to ensure rigorous enforcement of all U.S. and multilateral sanctions.

“…Finally, and most importantly, our witnesses stressed that increasing sanctions pressure on the DPRK to the level necessary to force negotiations requires a deliberate, forceful, and coordinated diplomatic effort by the United States coupled with tough sanctions enforcement.”