Bahrain backs US sanctions against N Korea

Manama : Bahrain has joined the US and other countries to implement economic sanctions against North Korea, according to a Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) release. The BCCI said it has received an official letter from the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism regarding the US announcement of the largest tranche of sanctions against North Korea, with the objective of disrupting North Korean nuclear activities that threaten international peace, security and stability.

“In order to consolidate the strategic relations between Bahrain and the United States, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs urges the implementation of economic sanctions similar to those imposed by the US on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,” the release added.

The US has also proposed a list of entities to be blacklisted under separate UN sanctions, a move “aimed at shutting down North Korea’s illicit maritime smuggling activities to obtain oil and sell coal.”

North Korea has been developing nuclear-tipped missiles capable of reaching the US mainland and Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have exchanged taunts that have raised fears of war.