US slaps sanctions on individual related to DPRK

US Treasury on Monday announced that it has imposed sanctions on a South African national for his alleged action of helping Pyongyang "evade US sanctions."

The Treasury said in a statement that Vladlen Amtchentsev, a Russian-born South African national, has advised Velmur Management Pte. Ltd. (Velmur), an already blacklisted company by the US on "how to evade US sanctions," reports Xinhua news agency.

Washington designated Velmur in August 2017, accusing it of working "to purchase fuel oil and gasoil for North Korea (the Democratic People's Republic of Korea)."

In Monday's statement, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin claimed that Pyongyang "depends upon the help of criminals and illicit actors to raise and transfer funds."

The Treasury's new move was the latest among a series of sanctions imposed by the US on the DPRK-related entities and individuals amid the ongoing talks between the two sides on the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.

Pyongyang has repeatedly criticised the continued sanctions imposed by Washington, calling them actions of "deepening our mistrust."

--IANS

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