The United States has slapped sanctions on five North Korean officials in its first response to Pyongyang's latest ballistic missile tests.
The Treasury Department said Wednesday it was imposing penalties on the officials over their roles in obtaining equipment and technology for the North's missile programs.
One of the five North Koreans is based in Russia, according to the Treasury, while the other four are based in China.
All of them are accused of providing money, goods or services to a science academy that is said to be involved in the reclusive state's military defense programs.
The sanctions freeze any assets that the targets have in U.S. jurisdictions and bar Americans from doing business with them.
In a statement, the Treasury's chief of terrorism and financial intelligence, Brian Nelson, said the North's missile launches were "further evidence that it continues to advance prohibited programs despite the international community's calls for diplomacy and denuclearization."
In a related move, the State Department ordered sanctions against another North Korean, a Russian man and company for their broader support of Pyongyang's weapons of mass destruction activities.
The actions were in response to six ballistic missile tests by the North since September, and came just hours after North Korean state media said leader Kim Jong-un oversaw a successful test of a hypersonic missile on Tuesday that he claimed would increase the country's nuclear "war deterrent."
