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The US pulled out a card of sanctions against North Korea in relation to North Korea's successive tests of ballistic missiles. Six North Korean nationals and Russian groups involved in the development of ballistic missiles were included in the sanctions.



Correspondent Yunsu Kim from Washington.



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The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Overseas Assets Control announced that six North Korean nationals, one Russian, and one Russian group had been newly added to sanctions.



This is because North Korea was involved in the development of weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles.



Most of the North Korean nationals subject to sanctions belong to the North Korean Academy of Defense Science, and it is known that they were in charge of procurement of parts related to nuclear and missile development in Russia and China.



The U.S. Treasury Department explained that North Korea has tested ballistic missile launches six times since September last year in violation of UN Security Council resolutions.



Treasury sanctions freeze all U.S. assets and ban business with them.



[Ned Price / US State Department Spokesperson: It is important for the international community to send a strong and unified message so that North Korea can stop provocations and comply with UN Security Council resolutions.



] This is the second time.



Last month, the Ministry of Finance raised the North Korean Central Prosecutor's Office and Defense Minister Ri Yong-gil to sanctions on the grounds of North Korea's oppression of forced labor and human rights.



The United Nations said North Korea's missile launches were extremely worrisome and predicted that the North Korean problem could worsen in the future.