BEIJING (Dispatches) -- China said on Friday it has sternly protested to the U.S. for imposing sanctions on a tech firm which Washington accuses of moving illicit funding to North Korea.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said China resolutely opposes unilateral sanctions and long-armed jurisdiction, adding that Beijing had lodged stern representations with Washington.
The U.S. on Thursday imposed sanctions on China-based Yanbian Silverstar Network Technology Co, its North Korean chief executive Jong Song Hwa, and a Russian-based sister company, Volasys Silver Star,
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the sanctions were intended to stop the flow of "illicit revenue" to North Korea from overseas information technology workers allegedly disguising their true identities.
"China had already lodged stern representations with the U.S. side about this, and urges the U.S. side to stop these wrong actions,” Shuang said.
The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has maintained sanctions pressure on Pyongyang despite his meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in June at a summit in Singapore.
North Korea’s Foreign Ministry on Friday denounced a "smear campaign”, warning that it could undermine the implementation of an agreement between Trump and Kim.
"The U.S. farce of prosecution is none other than a vicious slander and another smear campaign full of falsehood and fabrication designed to undermine the DPRK,” the ministry said, referring to the country’s official name.
It urged the U.S. to "seriously ponder over the negative consequences of circulating falsehoods and inciting antagonism against the DPRK that may affect the implementation of the joint statement adopted at the DPRK-U.S. summit."
Washington has also accused Russia of violating UN sanctions on North Korea by granting work permits to North Korean laborers despite Russia’s denial of any such actions.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki on Thursday accused Moscow of seeking to cover up breaches of UN sanctions on Pyongyang by pushing for changes to a report on alleged sanctions violations.
The report was submitted to the Security Council’s North Korea sanctions committee last month, claiming that Pyongyang had not stopped its nuclear and missile programs and was violating UN sanctions on exports.
The U.S. administration alleged that Russia had pressured the independent sanctions monitors to amend the report.
Moscow has called on the UN to consider easing sanctions on North Korea in response to its opening up dialogue with the United States and halting missile tests.