By Lee Haye-ah
WASHINGTON, Aug. 22 (Yonhap) -- The United States continued to send seemingly confusing messages on North Korea on Tuesday, announcing first a set of additional sanctions and then renewing its offer for talks.
The day opened with a Treasury announcement of 16 entities and individuals, mainly from China and Russia, who are now banned from accessing the U.S. financial system due to their alleged roles in assisting North Korea's nuclear and missile programs.
In the afternoon, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson stood behind a podium to effectively compliment North Korea for refraining from provocations since the adoption of new U.N. Security Council sanctions against the regime on Aug. 5.
He said, "We hope that this is the beginning of this signal that we've been looking for, that they are ready to restrain their level of tensions, they're ready to restrain their provocative acts, and that perhaps we are seeing our pathway to sometime in the near future having some dialogue."
The response from U.S. experts ranged from a recognition of consistency in U.S. policy to bewilderment.
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