In a carefully choreographed strategy deployed from the shadow of the United Nations headquarters in New York, Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin called the head of China’s central bank very early Thursday to alert him that Mr. Trump was preparing an executive order to sanction any financial institutions doing business with North Korea. He asked for the cooperation of China, the main source of North Korea’s cash.
Hours later, the People’s Bank of China announced it was directing all other banks in China to halt financial transactions with North Korea.
Soon afterward, Mr. Trump signed an executive order in a meeting with the presidents of South Korea and Japan, expanding the Treasury Department’s ability to freeze the assets of banks or individuals doing business with Pyongyang. Mr. Trump praised China’s action, saying with uncharacteristic understatement that it was “somewhat unexpected.”
“For much too long, North Korea has been allowed to abuse the international financial system to facilitate funding for its nuclear weapons and missile programs,” Mr. Trump said. “Tolerance for this disgraceful practice must end now.”
Mr. Trump’s tightening of the screws culminated his weeklong effort to marshal more international pressure on North Korea. The expanded and coordinated sanctions were announced two days after Mr. Trump alarmed many at the General Assembly by warning that the U.S. was prepared to “totally destroy” North Korea if it attacked the U.S. or its allies.
In a carefully choreographed strategy deployed from the shadow of the United Nations headquarters in New York, Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin called the head of China’s central bank very early Thursday to alert him that Mr. Trump was preparing an executive order to sanction any financial institutions doing business with North Korea. He asked for the cooperation of China, the main source of North Korea’s cash.
Hours later, the People’s Bank of China announced it was directing all other banks in China to halt financial transactions with North Korea.
Soon afterward, Mr. Trump signed an executive order in a meeting with the presidents of South Korea and Japan, expanding the Treasury Department’s ability to freeze the assets of banks or individuals doing business with Pyongyang. Mr. Trump praised China’s action, saying with uncharacteristic understatement that it was “somewhat unexpected.”
“For much too long, North Korea has been allowed to abuse the international financial system to facilitate funding for its nuclear weapons and missile programs,” Mr. Trump said. “Tolerance for this disgraceful practice must end now.”
Mr. Trump’s tightening of the screws culminated his weeklong effort to marshal more international pressure on North Korea. The expanded and coordinated sanctions were announced two days after Mr. Trump alarmed many at the General Assembly by warning that the U.S. was prepared to “totally destroy” North Korea if it attacked the U.S. or its allies.
Today's Headlines
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The war of words between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Trump has escalated, with worries about what comes next. Here are the stories you shouldn’t miss today:
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TOP STORIES
The ‘Rocket Man,’ the ‘Dotard’ and Nuclear Anxiety
President Trump has unveiled another round of sanctions on North Korea, while Kim Jong Un has unleashed a rhetorical salvo with an exceptionally rare, 500-word statement. After Trump threatened earlier this week to “totally destroy” North Korea if necessary and called Kim “Rocket Man” in reference to his series of missile tests, Kim has now vowed to make him “pay dearly” and referred to Trump as “the mentally deranged U.S. dotard.” (Admit it, you probably looked it up.) The statement could indicate another weapons test is coming.
Amid Mexico’s Rubble, Heroes Come Forward
After Mexico’s deadly earthquake Tuesday, it was a drama that transfixed the nation: the search for a trapped girl thought to be named “Frida Sofia” at a Mexico City school. Then on Thursday, officials said there was no sign that any child was missing and alive in the rubble — an abrupt end to a symbol of hope, just as the odds of finding survivors at countless other sites dwindled and the death toll was expected to rise. Still, emergency workers and an army of volunteers who didn’t wait for the government’s help kept working. As did a 7-year-old Labrador who’s shown her valor in numerous disasters.
In Puerto Rico, the Worst Is Not Over
The full extent of the damage in Puerto Rico from Hurricane Maria, the strongest storm to hit the island in more than 80 years, won’t be known until lines of communication reopen in many areas. But the destruction in the capital of San Juan was apparent: homes reduced to heaps of splintered wood and crumbling concrete, flooded streets and the prospect of more rain.
Residents of Isla Palmeras, a neighborhood in San Juan, are surrounded by floodwater. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
Strange Happenings in Alabama’s Senate Race
In the race to succeed Jeff Sessions as senator from Alabama, one Republican candidate is a firebrand prone to making controversial statements; the other is backed by the GOP establishment and might even be called “low energy.” So whom is President Trump backing with a visit to the Heart of Dixie? That would be the latter, “Big” Luther Strange, the incumbent. But voter enthusiasm runs high for the more Trump-like challenger, Roy Moore, who has the support of former White House advisor Stephen K. Bannon and allies.
More Politics
— Under pressure, Facebook said it would share more than 3,000 ads linked to Russia with congressional panels investigating foreign meddling in the 2016 election.
— After months of challenges and controversy, Trump’s travel ban expires Sunday, and a new one may be coming.
— Despite months of promises, the GOP-led Congress and White House have yet to agree on how to revamp the tax code.
Flip the Script: Don’t Say a Word
Remember when movies had sharp, witty dialogue? These days, a lot of them have … well, long stretches of nothing at all. As in silence. Nearly a century after “The Jazz Singer” brought in the era of the talkie, dialogue-light scripts and the occasional use of no sound are commonplace at the theater. Directors have some theories why. Now, if only you could get those people in the row behind you to zip it.
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FLASHBACK FRIDAY
In late September 1939, a tropical heat wave killed an estimated 60 people in Southern California. It ended with a storm Sept. 24 that brought 65-mph winds and “smashed vessels against piers, breakwaters and beaches,” The Times reported. Among them was the fishing barge Minnie A. Caine, which broke anchor and drifted onto the shore 2½ miles north of Santa Monica. It took 40 lifeguards to rescue six men from the barge.
Sept. 24, 1939: The 247-foot fishing barge Minnie A. Caine washed ashore near Sunset Boulevard, north of Santa Monica. (Los Angeles Times)
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MUST-WATCH VIDEO
— One of the worst of Mexico’s earthquake tragedies unfolded at the church in the small town of Atzala.
— Hurricane Maria left a historic trail of destruction across Puerto Rico.
— An artist discusses making a sculpture from the belongings of a DACA deportee.
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