President Barack Obama has extended US economic sanctions on North Korea for another year, citing the continuing threat posed by Pyongyang's nuclear program, the White House said.
In a notice posted on the White House website, Mr Obama said he was renewing the sanctions because "the existence and the risk of proliferation of weapons-usable fissile material on the Korean Peninsula continued to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat" to the United States.
Washington has struggled to convince North Korea to resume multi-party talks to end its nuclear ambitions. Pyongyang has insisted on direct talks with the United States and the removal of sanctions imposed on the communist-run country.
Former US president George W. Bush took North Korea off the US state sponsors of terrorism list and eased trade restrictions on the economically shattered nation in 2008, but he left in place other financial restrictions.
They included a freeze on North Korean assets in the United States and a ban on US citizens conducting business with North Korean-flagged vessels.
Mr Obama said the renewal of those sanctions would be effective for a year beyond June 26th, 2010. He had issued a previous one-year renewal last year.
The move came amid a crisis over the sinking of a South Korean warship that killed 46 sailors and which South Korea has blamed on the North.
North Korea's UN envoy said yesterday that any UN Security Council action over the sinking of the ship that was hostile to Pyongyang would be met by a military "follow-up".
Reuters