Trump orders withdrawal of sanctions against N Korea immediately after Treasury imposes them
Washington, Mar 23: Donald Trump has abruptly ordered the withdrawal of additional "large-scale" sanctions on North Korea, immediately after the Treasury Department imposed them, with his press secretary saying that the US President "likes" North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and does not think they are necessary.
President Trump's unusual move comes after his second summit with Kim, held last month in Hanoi, Vietnam. Trump walked out of that summit after refusing to agree to the North Korea's demands of lifting all sanctions.
"It was announced today by the US Treasury that additional large- scale sanctions would be added to those already existing sanctions on North Korea. I have today ordered the withdrawal of those additional sanctions!" Trump tweeted on Friday.
This was an apparent reference to sanctions the Treasury Department has announced Thursday on Chinese shipping companies doing business with North Korea. Those sanctions prompted swift pushback from the Chinese and North Korean governments.
The two companies are Dalian Haibo International Freight Co. Ltd. and Liaoning Danxing International Forwarding Co. Ltd.
The sanctions were the first new sign of pressure since talks between Trump and Kim broke down in Hanoi.
"The US and our like-minded partners remain committed to achieving the final, fully verified denuclearisation of North Korea and believe that the full implementation of North Korea-related UN Security Council re solutions is crucial to a successful outcome," said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
"Treasury will continue to enforce our sanctions, and we are making it explicitly clear that shipping companies employing deceptive tactics to mask illicit trade with North Korea expose themselves to great risk," it said.
The National Security Advisor John Bolton described it as an "important" action.
"The maritime industry must do more to stop North Korea's illicit shipping practices. Everyone should take notice and review their own activities to ensure they are not involved in North Korea's sanctions evasion," Bolton tweeted.
The White House, however, defended Trump's decision.
"President Trump likes Chairman Kim and he doesn't think these sanctions will be necessary," White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said.
In June, Trump and Kim had their first-ever historic meeting aimed at normalising ties and complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.
While North Korea since then has refrained from overtly provocative actions like testing nuclear warheads or ballistic missiles, it has yet to agree to actually give up any piece of its atomic arsenal.
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Telangana CM urges Amit Shah to increase sanctioned strength of IPS officers in state
Hyderabad (PTI): Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Wednesday night and urged him to increase the sanctioned strength of IPS officers to the state in view of its growing administrative and security needs.
The two leaders also discussed the recent surrender of several senior Maoist leaders before the Telangana Police and other issues.
"During the meeting, the two leaders discussed the issue of Maoist surrenders and their rehabilitation. The chief minister informed Shah that significant improvements in policing have taken place in Telangana over the past two years," an official release here said.
Highlighting that 591 Maoists have laid down their arms and joined the mainstream of society during this period, the chief minister said the state government was providing them compensation and rehabilitation assistance as per the rules.
He requested the Union home minister to extend financial support from the central government for development works in the backward regions of the state.
Reddy also urged Shah to increase the sanctioned strength of IPS officers to the state from 83 to 105 in line with the state's growing administrative and security needs, the statement said.
The first cadre review after the formation of Telangana was conducted in 2016, while the next review, due in 2021, was delayed and finally carried out in 2025. Even then, only seven additional IPS officers were allocated to the state, the chief minister informed Shah and requested that the third cadre review be conducted in 2026 as per the schedule.
Reddy explained that Telangana, like the rest of the country, is facing several modern challenges, including cybercrime, drug trafficking, white-collar crimes, and other emerging security threats.
He highlighted the reorganisation of the Hyderabad, Cyberabad, and Malkajgiri Police Commissionerates, the proposed formation of the Future City Commissionerate and the rapidly growing population in Hyderabad to underline the increasing administrative requirements of the state.
