(LEAD) Trump announces 'largest ever' new sanctions on N. Korea

(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with announcement of sanctions, background; CHANGES headline)

WASHINGTON, Feb. 23 (Yonhap) -- U.S. President Donald Trump announced the "largest ever" sanctions on North Korea Friday, ratcheting up pressure on the regime to give up its nuclear weapons program despite a growing mood of reconciliation between the Koreas.

The sanctions target 27 shipping and trade companies, 28 vessels and one individual suspected of helping North Korea evade existing sanctions. They are located or registered in countries including North Korea, China, Singapore, Tanzania and Panama.

"Today I am announcing that we are launching the largest ever set of new sanctions on the North Korean regime," Trump said in excerpts of a speech he was to deliver at a conference of conservative activists. "The Treasury Department will soon be taking new action to further cut off sources of revenue and fuel that the regime uses to fund its nuclear program and sustain its military."

A senior U.S. government official told reporters on background that the sanctions aim to hinder the North's ability to conduct illicit maritime trade in fuel, coal and other resources.

The U.S. has led a "maximum pressure" campaign of growing economic and diplomatic sanctions to force Pyongyang to discuss its denuclearization.

Friday's sanctions are the latest in that campaign and signal a determination by the Trump administration to keep pressure on the regime despite warming ties between the two Koreas.

The ongoing Winter Olympics in PyeongChang have created an opening for reconciliation since North Korea agreed to send a delegation to the Games and its leader, Kim Jong-un, invited South Korean President Moon Jae-in to visit Pyongyang.

Seoul hopes to build on that momentum to enable denuclearization talks between Washington and Pyongyang.

hague@yna.co.kr
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