The United States is proposing new penalties aimed at preventing North Korea from laundering money that could be used for its nuclear weapons program.

The Treasury Department has now designated North Korea as a “primary money laundering concern.”

Treasury official Adam Szubin (ZOO’-bin) says it’s a further step toward severing banking relationships with North Korea.

In March, the United Nations imposed the toughest sanctions yet against North Korea after the isolated communist nation conducted atomic and missile tests.

(AP)