US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Thursday that broad new sanctions authority means that firms around the world must now choose between doing business with the United States or North Korea.

"Foreign financial institutions are now on notice that going forward they can choose to do business with the United States or with North Korea, but not both," Mnuchin said, after President Donald Trump authorized possible sanctions against almost any business trading with North Korea. 

The measures could be applied to firms across the construction, energy, financial services, fishing, information technology, manufacturing, medical, mining, textiles, or transportation sectors.

Mnuchin said that no specific firms have yet been targeted but that an assessment would be made on a "rolling basis."

Source: AFP