The Bush administration is reportedly considering re-imposing sanctions on North Korea after Pyongyang conducted a series of provocative long-range missile tests in early July. Molly Millerwise, a spokeswoman for Stuart Levey, the Treasury Department's top terrorism official, told reporters in Washington today that enforcing broad economic sanctions “is one of the options that's on the table.” While White House officials have categorically ruled out a military response, both State Department and Treasury Department officials have said they are planning a strong response to North Korea's seven missile test-firing on July 5. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said earlier Monday that the United States will ensure the communist regime of Kim Jong-Il is not able to acquire more missile technology or finance its programs with counterfeit dollars. “We're going to do everything we can do to make it difficult for the North Koreans to do that,” Hill said. The United States relaxed older sanctions on North Korea in 2000, allowing Americans to travel there and engage in limited business activities. After North Korea abandoned the six-party non-proliferation talks last year, U.S. officials began discussing a return to the original sanctions.
