Spotlight: U.S. imposes new unilateral sanctions on DPRK amid heightened tensions on Korean Peninsula

U.S. President Barack Obama issued an executive order on Wednesday to impose new sanctions on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

The White House said the "robust new sanctions" are part of U.S. response to the DPRK's Jan. 6 nuclear test and Feb. 7 ballistic missile launch.

The sanctions include blocking certain transactions on property belonging to the DPRK government and to the Workers' Party of Korea.

Following the executive order, the U.S. Department of the Treasury also announced new sanctions against the DPRK, which target 17 DPRK government officials and organizations. It also identified "20 vessels as blocked property."

White House press secretary Josh Earnest said in a press release that these actions are "consistent with our longstanding commitment" to applying pressure on the DPRK.

He also noted that the United States and the global community will not tolerate the DPRK's "illicit" nuclear and ballistic missile activities, and will continue to impose costs on the DPRK "until it comes into compliance with its international obligations."

The executive order came on the same day as the DPRK's Supreme Court sentenced 21-year-old Otto Warmbier, an American student from the University of Virginia, to 15 years of hard labor for subversion.

Warmbier had tearfully confessed in front of media that he took down a political banner from the wall of the hotel where he stayed during a tour in Pyongyang in January.

U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Wednesday the sentence was "unduly harsh" and urged the DPRK to pardon and free Warmbier.

The trial came amid high tensions on the Korean Peninsula with the United States and South Korea carrying out their largest-ever military drills, which will last till April 30. The drills involve a "beheading operation" that targets the DPRK leadership and plans to destroy the major facilities harboring weapons of mass destruction.

China has repeatedly urged all parties to talk and act with prudence to avoid escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula, and has continued to champion the resumption of the Six-Party Talks as the most effective way to ensure peace and stability in the region.

"Sanctions are just necessary means, maintaining stability is the pressing priority, and only negotiation can provide a fundamental solution," Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said of the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula at a press conference on the sidelines of the national legislature's annual session earlier this month.

Wang also urged all parties to "act with reason and constraint, and refrain from aggravating tensions."

At the daily press conference on Thursday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang also voiced opposition to the new U.S. sanctions, saying "China has always opposed any unilateral sanctions by any country."

Under the sensitive and complex situation on the Korean Peninsula, China opposes any moves that may further escalate the tensions, Lu added.

On Jan. 6, the DPRK conducted its fourth nuclear test, and launched a long-range rocket on Feb. 7, which was widely seen as a disguised test of banned ballistic missile technology.

The UN Security Council on March 2 unanimously adopted Resolution 2270which contains the toughest sanctions against the DPRK to curb the country's nuclear and missile programs. On March 8, South Korea also unveiled a package of new unilateral anti-DPRK sanctions.

In response, the DPRK has fired short-range ballistic missiles, announced the liquidation of all remaining South Korean assets on its territory and nullified all inter-Korean economic cooperation projects.

On Tuesday, top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un also warned of impending tests of nuclear warheads and ballistic rockets. Endit