U.S. pushes more U.N. sanctions targeting North Korea oil, coal smuggling

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announces on Friday what he said was the largest North Korea-related sanctions in a bid to disrupt North Korean shipping and trading companies and vessels and to further isolate Pyongyang, in the press room at the White House in Washington, U.S. February 23, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United States proposed a list of entities on Friday to be blacklisted under United Nations sanctions on North Korea, a move it says is "aimed at shutting down North Korea's illicit maritime smuggling activities to obtain oil and sell coal."

"We are ramping up the pressure on the North Korean regime, and we're going to use every tool at our disposal, including working with our allies and through the U.N., to increase the pressure until North Korea reverses course," U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said in a statement.