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March 22 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump on Friday canceled the latest sanctions on North Korea hours after he said they were imposed by the U.S. Treasury Department. "It was announced today by the U.S. 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.
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The announcement undercut efforts by his own Treasury Department, though it's unclear which sanctions he was referring to because the department did not announce any Friday. Treasury officials announced Thursday night that it penalized two Chinese shipping companies for allegedly helping North Korea evade international trade sanctions.
Under the penalties, Dalian Haibo International Freight Co. Ltd. and Liaoning Danxing International Forwarding Co. Ltd. would be blocked from engaging with the U.S. financial system or with any assets based in the United States. U.S. businesses also would be prohibited from working with them in the future.
Offering an explanation for canceling the sanctions, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters, "President Trump likes Chairman Kim [Jong Un] and he doesn't think these sanctions will be necessary."
