The United States sanctioned six international companies and four vessels on Tuesday for illegally smuggling North Korean coal, sending a signal that Washington is ready to go after sanctions violators outside of the DPRK’s usual circle.

The U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced the sanctions on Dec. 8, unprecedentedly designating British and Vietnamese companies for violating DPRK sanctions in the process.

In the past, the U.S. Treasury Department has sanctioned North Korea-linked companies from the offshore haven of the British Virgin Islands, but it has never before targeted companies incorporated in