A few months after a South Korean investigation established that North Korea was responsible for the sinking of the Cheonan, the Obama administration, well-aware of the security implications of the attack, announced that further and harsher economic sanctions against North Korea were to be expected.

Just weeks later the U.S. government announced its latest sanctions package for North Korea.  Executive Order 13551, signed on August 30^th 2010 by President Obama, stipulates that “all property and interests in property that are in the United States, [...] are blocked and may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn or otherwise dealt in.”  The order thereby aims to curtail North Korean economic activity by rendering virtually any exchange between a U.S. supplier and North Korea illegal.