The United States imposed sanctions on companies and individuals accusing them of contributing to the financing of the North Korean authorities from illegal sources, in the latest US move against Pyongyang over its missile and nuclear programs.
The sanctions - imposed by the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control on Wednesday - targeted the "Chelsong Trading" company, which Washington says North Korea uses to earn foreign currency and gather intelligence.
According to a statement issued by the US Treasury, the sanctions also included the "Korea Baiko Trading" company, which is accused of financing North Korea since the eighties by implementing technical and construction projects in the Middle East and Africa.
The US Department added that the Office of Foreign Assets Control also imposed sanctions on two individuals for helping the Pyongyang government to generate financial returns.
For his part, Brian Nelson, the department's sanctions official, said that North Korea's "illegal programs of weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles threaten international security and regional stability."
He added that the United States "remains committed to targeting (this) regime's illegal networks around the world that provide it with funding for its destabilizing activities."
North Korean state media said last week that Pyongyang had test-fired four strategic cruise missiles during an exercise aimed at demonstrating its ability to carry out a nuclear counterattack on what it calls hostile forces.