Also Monday, the Treasury Department blacklisted the same firm, Dandong Hongxiang Industrial Development Company, and the individuals. The department alleged in a statement that Hongxiang has provided financial services to a North Korean firm that is already sanctioned, Korea Kwangson Banking Corporation. That's fueling worries that North Korea is moving closer to its goal of a nuclear-armed missile that could one day strike the U.S. mainland. Last week, Chinese authorities said they were investigating Hongxiang, based in Dandong, a northeastern city on the North Korean border. It has tightened controls on cross-border flows of goods, but that hasn't allayed suspicions that North Korea can still conduct illicit business through China.

Source: New Zealand Herald September 26, 2016 17:00 UTC