South Korean army soldiers pass by a TV screen showing North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a news program, at Seoul Railway Station on March 15, 2016. | AP Photo White House announces new North Korea sanctions

President Barack Obama signed an executive order imposing new sanctions on North Korea in light of the authoritarian regime's latest belligerent actions, the White House announced Wednesday.

The executive order, signed Tuesday, follows North Korea's nuclear test on Jan. 6 and subsequent Feb. 7 launch using ballistic missile technology in violation of long-standing six-party talks. The sanctions represent a tightening of restrictions already in place, the administration said.


"These actions are consistent with our longstanding commitment to apply sustained pressure on the North Korean regime," White House press secretary Josh Earnest said in a statement. "The U.S. and the global community will not tolerate North Korea’s illicit nuclear and ballistic missile activities, and we will continue to impose costs on North Korea until it comes into compliance with its international obligations."

According to a fact sheet circulated by the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, the sanctions target the regime's censorship machine, Workers’ Party of Korea, Propaganda and Agitation Department, as well as financial institutions and mining and transportation companies, whose efforts play a large role in financing, funding and shipping, respectively, the regime's nuclear and ballistic programs.