Several Latin American countries maintain trade and diplomatic ties with North Korea despite U.S. pressure to sever their relations with Pyongyang.
As the United States works to prevent North Korea from attaining a credible nuclear deterrent , it is using all the tools it has. Its campaign to isolate North Korea includes pressing trade partners around the world to stop doing business with the North and suspend diplomatic relations with the government in Pyongyang. In Latin America, the U.S. demands have met with mixed results. Some countries have broken off their relationships with North Korea, but others have shrugged off the pressure. In September, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to cut off trade with any country that continued to do business with the North Koreans . A few weeks earlier on a trip through Argentina, Colombia, Chile and Panama, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence emphasized that Latin American governments should suspend both trade and diplomacy with Pyongyang in light of its nuclear weapons program.
