On Thursday, September 21, two days after Trump told the UN General Assembly that he vowed to “totally destroy North Korea” if the United States is threatened, the President signed a new executive order which expands his authority to target those that do business with the isolated nation. What does this mean? It means Trump plans to cut off North Korea’s funding and strike down its nuclear and missile ambitions amongst a lineup of recent tests.

“North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missile development is a grave threat to peace and security in our world and it is unacceptable that others financially support this criminal, rogue regime,” Trump said before meeting with Shinzo Abe, the Prime Minister of Japan, and Moon Jae-in, South Korean President. “Our new executive order will cut off sources of revenue that fund North Korea’s efforts to develop the deadliest weapons known to humankind. The order enhances the Treasury Department’s authorities to target any individual or entity that conducts significant trade in goods, services or technology with North Korea.”

Further, Trump made note that China’s central bank has advised its banks to implement U.N. sanctions. He referred to it as a “bold” and “somewhat unexpected” move. This is key as it suggests that Trump is trying to kill any speculation that he is targeting China, or any other North Korean trading partner, with the action. “I want it to be clear – the order targets only one country, and that country is North Korea.”

For those who don’t know, North Korea has been testing ballistic missiles and reportedly a hydrogen bomb in recent weeks. Trump continues to echo, in both global remarks and via his Twitter account, that while he does not want to enter into military action against North Korea, he is prepared to fight if need be.

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