Washington has imposed sanctions on three men accused of involvement in the death of 22-year-old student Otto Warmbier. The sanctions make it illegal for any US entity to conduct financial transactions with them.
The US Treasury Department said Monday that Washington had frozen the US assets of the three officials and banned them from entering financial transactions with US companies.
"The United States has consistently condemned the North Korean regime for its flagrant and egregious abuses of human rights and fundamental freedoms, and this administration will continue to take action against human rights abusers around the globe," said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
One of the officials, Choe Ryong Hae, is a close adviser of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. He is believed to be the second highest official in the North Korean military. At a military parade in 2017, he said North Korea would "beat down enemies with the power of nuclear justice."
The other officials are Jong Kyong Thaek, the minister of state security, North Korea's primary counterintelligence agency, and Pak Kwang Ho, the director of North Korea's Propaganda and Agitation Department.
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The Treasury Department did not say how the three men were involved in the death of Warmbier, a 22-year-old student who died in 2017 after he was arrested while visiting the isolated country as a tourist.
The United States has been trying to make progress in talks with North Korea over dismantling its nuclear weapons program. But talks have stalled since Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump pledged to realize a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula at a summit in Singapore in June.
Monday's announcement coincided with the United Nations-backed Human Rights Day.
amp/cmk (AP, AFP, Reuters)
North Korea's history of taking US prisoners
The parents of US tourist Otto Warmbier, who died after being imprisoned in North Korea, say he was tortured. His case is an extreme example when compared to other US citizens who have been held captive by Pyongyang.
Image: picture-alliance/Photoshot
'Crimes against the state'
In 2016, US student Otto Warmbier was arrested for allegedly stealing a propaganda poster as a "trophy." He was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for "crimes against the state." In June 2017, he was returned by North Korea to the US in a coma and died a week later. What happened to him in captivity is a mystery. His death prompted a ban on US citizens traveling to North Korea.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/MAXPPP
'Subversion and espionage'
Kim Dong Chul, a South Korea-born US citizen, was sentenced in 2015 to 10 years hard labor for "subversion and espionage" after North Korean officials said he received a USB stick containing nuclear-linked and military secrets from a South Korean source in North Korea. Chul was arrested while visiting the special economic zone of Rason. He remains imprisoned and his condition is unknown.
Image: Reuters/KCNA
'Trying to overthrow the regime'
In 2013, North Korea sentenced US citizen Kenneth Bae to 15 years hard labor for "crimes against the state." He was arrested while on a tour group in the port city of Rason. A North Korean court described Bae as a militant Christian evangelist. He was allowed to talk to the media once, and said he was forced to work eight hours a day and was in poor health. Bae was released in November 2014.
Image: Reuters/KCNA
'Rash behavior' and 'hostile acts'
In 2013, US citizen Matthew Miller was arrested when he arrived in Pyongyang and reportedly tore up his US passport, demanding asylum in North Korea. He was later sentenced to six years of hard labor on charges of espionage. The court said Miller had a "wild ambition" to experience prison life so that he could secretly investigate North Korea's human rights situation. He was released in 2014.
Image: Reuters/KCNA
'Criminal involved in killing civilians'
In 2013, Merrill Newman an 85-year-old Korean War US Army veteran, was detained for one month in North Korea. Arrested as he was departing, he was accused of "masterminding espionage and subversive activities." He was freed after he expressed "sincere repentance" and read a statement that said he was "guilty of a long list of indelible crimes against the DPRK government and Korean people."
Image: Reuters
Freed by a diplomatic gesture
US journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling were captured in 2009 after briefly entering North Korea to report on refugees. After a month in confinement, they were sentenced to 12 years hard labor for "illegal entry and "hostile acts." Two months later, after former US President Bill Clinton met with former North Korean leader Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang, the two women were pardoned and freed.
