Donald Trump imposes new sanctions on 8 North Korean banks

Today, President Trump escalated pressure on

Kim Jong Un to disband his nuclear weapons program by imposing sanctions on eight North Korean banks.

"We are targeting North Korean banks and financial facilitators acting as representatives for North Korean banks across the globe. This further advances our strategy to fully isolate North Korea in order to achieve our broader objectives of a peaceful and denuclearized Korean peninsula" Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.

The affected banks include Agricultural Development Bank, Cheil Credit Bank and International Industrial Bank. The administration also imposed sanctions on more than two dozen people linked to North Korea's financial network. The Treasury Department said they are North Koreans operating in China, Russia, Libya and the United Arab Emirates and who act as representatives of North Korean banks.