Lessons on sanctions and North Korea – A dual approach to slowly enact change

Financial sanctions are measures taken to identify, target and disable the financial support networks of foreign states and regimes, terrorists, international narcotics traffickers, proliferators of weapons of mass destruction, and other threats to national security.[1] They are currently imposed by the United States on fifteen states ranging from Belarus to North Korea, and individuals and organizations such as Charles Taylor and Al Qaeda.[2] Though their ability to achieve their stated purpose is contested by such scholars as Haufbauer and Robert A. Page, [3][4] sanctions are commonly used in international relations and are a prominent tool of coercive diplomacy.