<p>President Trump is now targeting North Korea&rsquo;s trade partners in an effort to stymie the rogue regime&rsquo;s bad behavior. ;</p>
<p>This Thursday, he signed an executive order that gives the Treasury Department authority to target any &ldquo;individual or entity&rdquo; that carries out trade in &ldquo;goods, services, or technology&rdquo; with North Korea.&rdquo; This includes the power to sanction foreign banks. ;</p>
<p>The order follows Trump&rsquo;s first meeting with the UN General Assembly, and it was announced just before a lunch with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Moon Jae-in. ;</p>
<p>Since then, North Korean Leader Kim Jung Un has declared that a rocket to the U.S. is &#8220;inevitable.&#8221; Trump has responded by declaring that North Korea will &#8220;disappear.&#8221; Trump then a put additional travel restrictions on North Korea.</p>
<p>&ldquo;North Korea&rsquo;s nuclear weapons and missile development is a grave threat to peace and security in our world,&#8221; said Trump. &#8220;And it is unacceptable that others financially support this criminal rogue regime&#8230;Foreign banks will face a clear choice. Do business with the United States or facilitate trade with the lawless regime in North Korea.&rdquo;</p>
<p>According to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, the order gives the Treasury Department the authority to suspend US account access to foreign banks that knowingly facilitate &ldquo;significant transactions tied to trade with North Korea.&rdquo; ;</p>
<p>&ldquo;For too long, North Korea evaded sanctions and used the international financial system to facilitate funding for its weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs,&rdquo; continues Mnuchin. &ldquo;No bank in any country should be used to facilitate Kim Jong Un&rsquo;s destructive behavior.&rdquo; ;</p>
<p>The order also bans all aircraft and vessels that have visited North Korea from entering the United States for the next 180 days. ;</p>
<p>Trump says the new measure will disrupt Kim Jong Un&rsquo;s ability to raise money for his nuclear weapons program. The order also shows that Trump is allowing more time for economic pressure to take a toll on North Korea after his recent warning to world leaders that he is prepared to &ldquo;totally destroy&rdquo; ;the country ;if necessary.</p>
<p>Trump praised China after news that its banks had begun to halt financial services to North Korean customers. The move follows ;increasing pressure from the Trump Administration for China to help isolate North Korea. ;</p>
<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m very proud to tell you that&hellip;China, their central bank has told their other banks &ndash; that&rsquo;s a massive banking system &ndash; to immediately stop doing business with North Korea,&rdquo; said Trump. ;</p>
<p><strong>Editor&#8217;s note:</strong> This is a tough situation, the rhetoric continues to ratchet up. North Korea is still attempting to play hardball.</p>
<p> ;</p>