The U.S. has imposed sanctions on two people, three firms and identified a blocked ship that it says helped North Korea evade sanctions, the Treasury Department said on Friday in a statement.

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The U.S. sanctions target a shipping network that the Treasury Department says engaged in ship-to-ship oil transfers with North Korea to help Pyongyang circumvent sanctions imposed by the UN.

The Treasury Department says the two people used the ship, which had previously conducted at least two ship-to-ship transfers with North Korea-flagged vessels, to transport 1.7 million litres of petroleum products to a North Korean-flagged ship.

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The two people have interests in the three companies targeted by the sanctions, according to the Treasury Department.

North Korea is under UN sanctions in a bid to choke Pyongyang’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.

Although U.S. President Donald Trump has publicly stated he has a good relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

The U.S. seized a North Korean ship earlier this year that Washington said was involved in illegal coal shipments in violation of UN sanctions. (NAN)

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