This Is When I Know The U.S. Is Serious When It Comes To Sanctions Against North Korea

The Golden Triangle Bank is the primary bank of the Rason City, North Korea. Daily Mail

David S. Cohen, Washington Post: One powerful weapon to use against North Korea

In dealing with North Korea, the Trump administration should look to Iran. Specifically, it should take a page out of the Obama administration’s Iran sanctions playbook and apply against North Korea the tool used successfully to bring Iran to the nuclear negotiating table — “secondary sanctions” on those who do business with the regime.

North Korea is not, by any stretch, “sanctioned out.” Despite a broad set of international and U.S. sanctions, North Korea has gotten off relatively easy, especially as compared with Iran. That is largely because the United States has historically been reluctant to impose secondary sanctions to isolate North Korea, particularly against China, the regime’s principal legitimate trading partner. Certainly, the Trump administration should do its best to bring the Chinese government on board. But if China drags its feet, President Trump should proceed anyway.

Secondary sanctions are both simple and enormously powerful. They work by presenting a stark choice to a foreign bank: It can process transactions for a bank already facing sanctions (for example, one of the many North Korean banks that have been listed by the United States) or it can maintain its access to the U.S. financial system, but it cannot do both. That presents an easy choice, because access to the U.S. financial system, which also means access to the U.S. dollar, is a practical necessity for almost any bank anywhere in the world.

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WNU Editor: Sanctioning banks and companies from doing business with North Korean entities and individuals is the most effective form of sanctions. If a major Chinese bank is given a choice between doing business with North Korea or having access with the international banking system ..... they will choose the international banking system in a heart-beat. But so far .... this is a nuclear option that the U.S. is not ready to take. My guess is that it is the other countries in the region .... South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and China .... that are advising the U.S. to hold back.