In a surprise decision, Donald Trump announced the withdrawal of additional sanctions against North Korea

The American president, Donald Trump, retired on Friday by surprise of the latest economic sanctions imposed on North Korea, apparently referring to those announced Thursday against two Chinese shipping companies for helping North Korea to supply oil.

"The Treasury Department announced today that other large-scale sanctions would be added to existing sanctions against North Korea. I ordered the removal of these additional penalties today! "Trump said in a message on Twitter, without offering more details.

The unusual reverse seems to refer to the sanctions imposed on Thursday by the Treasury Department to two companies: Dalian Haibo Freight Co. Ltd. (Dalian Haibo) and Liaoning Danxing International Forwarding Co. Ltd. (Liaoning Danxing), two shipping companies that, according to the United States, have their headquarters in China.

Trump's decision is a remarkable sign of disagreements within the administration and shows just how much Casa Blanca intervenes in the policies traditionally managed by career managers both at the Treasury Department and at the State Department.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said Friday – quoted by the New York Times– that the decision was a favor for President Kim Jong-un.

"President Trump loves President Kim and does not consider these sanctions necessary"he said.

For his part, Tony Sayegh, spokesman of the Treasury Department, did not respond immediately to a request for comments on Trump's tweet.

Despite Trump's message, the fact is that additional sanctions were imposed Thursday by the US Treasury, a decision that was even made by National Security Adviser John Bolton.

"Important sanctions have been imposed today by the US Treasury; the maritime sector must do more to stop North Korea's illicit maritime practices. Everyone should take note of it and make sure not to be involved in the sanctions escape by the North Korean regime, "Bolton wrote on Twitter.

The Treasury Department justified Thursday its decision on the sanctions adopted by the United Nations in September 2018, whose goal was to try to drown North Korea economically for its nuclear program by sanctioning its imports of oil and petroleum products.

"The United States and its partners remain committed to achieving a complete and verifiable denuclearization of North Korea, and we believe that the imposition of sanctions by the United Nations Security Council is essential. for a positive result "Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Thursday in a statement.

The second summit between Trump and Kim, held in February in Vietnam, ended earlier than expected due to the lack of agreement between the two sides on the North Korean denuclearization process.

The United States attributed the failure of the Hanoi summit to the alleged North Korean demand to lift all US sanctions in exchange for advances in denuclearization, while North Korea contradicted Trump and said he had only asked for a partial remedy.