The new restrictions introduced by the US Treasury target several dozen vessels, trade entities and shipping companies from China, Singapore, Taiwan, and elsewhere, and have been met with condemnation by Pyongyang, which declared that any US effort to institute a maritime blockade would constitute an act of war.
Following the announcement, Donald Trump again not-so-subtly warned of the possibility of direct military action. "If the sanctions don't work, we'll have to go to phase two. Phase two may be a very rough thing, may be very, very unfortunate for the world. But hopefully the sanctions will work," he said.
In a post on his Facebook page, the senator wrote that it is a "stupendous peculiarity of the Americans to crash down with penalties not when a situation worsens, but when there are signs of normalization."
The politician recalled that the announcement on the new restrictions comes immediately after the DPRK's Olympic delegation, led by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's sister, arrived in the south to invite South Korean President Moon Jae-in to Pyongyang for an Inter-Korean summit.
"And what effect is Trump hoping to achieve? For North Korea to curtail its negotiating activities?" Kosachev asked. "Pyongyang is ready for this at any moment. In this case, one gets the impression that that maybe the US is interested in escalating the confrontation, rather than resolving Korea's problems through dialogue."
Ultimately, the senator stressed that the Korean case is another example of the US Treasury being used as a punitive institution, taking advantage of Washington's dominant position in the world economy to serve its own, narrow interests. "This, however, gives the other participants in global economic processes all the more reason to consider mechanisms to protect against the US's arbitrary behavior and outright blackmail," Kosachev concluded.
Double-Edged Sword
"The point is that the Trump administration has pushed itself into the same corner…On the one hand, there's the question of how long will North Korea have the strength to withstand the sanctions. On the other, there's the question of how much patience at the strategic level by the US? From all appearances, it does not seem limitless," Vasiliev said, speaking to RT Russian.
Game of Nerves
For his part, Dmitri Solonnikov, director of the Moscow-based Institute of Contemporary State Development, says that the new sanctions is related to the fact that the Trump administration's previous efforts on to deal with North Korea's weapons programs haven't brought any triumphs, even symbolic ones.
"For the US, it's very important to show that everything they say and everything they order others to do must be carried out. An attempt was made to get concessions out of North Korea, and to demonstrate the US's military superiority, but half a year ago it became obvious that this would not be possible – that North Korea's response would be so serious that it could cause an unacceptable level of damage to the US and its allies," Solonnikov noted.
According to the expert, the latest US measures are a continuation of the US pressure campaign, but this time on the economic plane. He noted that in the present situation, Pyongyang's response will be to put pressure on Seoul, including via talks on reunification. In this situation, Seoul will be made to choose – to move forward on the path toward a united Korea, or follow in the wake of the US hegemon's policy.
"Here, the question is who will lose their nerve first, who will shift their policy – the US or North Korea," the observer concluded.
