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ByVivianSalama and Matthew Lee The Associated Press WASHINGTON TheTrump administration issued sanctions Monday on 271 people linked to the Syr- ian agency responsible for producing non-con- ventional weapons, part of an ongoing U.S. crack- down on Syrian President Bashar Assad's alleged use of chemical weapons. The sanctions target em- ployees of Syria's Scien- tific Studies and Research Center, which the U.S. says partly enables the use of chemical weapons. The U.S. has blamed Assad for an attack earlier this month that killed more than 80 ci- vilians in rebel-held north- ern Idlib. "The United States is sending a strong message with this action: That we will not tolerate the use of chemical weapons by any actor," Treasury Secre- tary Steve Mnuchin told re- porters at the White House Monday. He said it was one of the largest such sanc- tions actions in U.S. his- tory. President Dona ld Trump has called Assad "evil" and said his use of chemical weapons "crossed a lot of lines." Assad has strongly de- nied he was behind the at- tack, in which sarin gas was allegedly used. As a result of Monday's action, any property or in- terest in property of the in- dividuals' sanctioned must be blocked, and U.S. per- sons are generally pro- hibited from dealing with them. As Trump dined this month with China's Pres- ident Xi Jinping during their highly anticipated summit at Trump's Florida resort, word emerged that Trump took action against Assad by launching missiles against a Syrian airfield. The retaliation was seen as somewhat unexpected for a president that vowed to stay out of lingering wars and conflicts overseas. This month, Russia ve- toed a Western-backed U.N. resolution that would have condemned the reported use of chemical weapons in Syria and demanded a speedy investigation into the attack. China abstained for the first time, a move the White House billed a win for their efforts to isolate Russia. "On Syria, the Council failed again this month to respond to Syria's use of chemical weapons," Trump said Monday at a White House meeting of U.N. am- bassadors from countries on the Security Council. "A great disappointment. I was very disappointed by that." The U.S. has gradually been expanding its sanc- tions program against Syria since 2004, when it issued sanctions targeting Syria for a range of offenses, in- cluding its support of ter- rorism, as well as its occu- pation of Lebanon, efforts to undermine stability in Iraq and pursuit of weap- ons of mass destruction. More recently, sanctions were expanded in connec- tion with its civil war, now in its sixth year, to target of- fenses linked to the ongoing violence and human rights abuses. The U.S. has also issued sanctions for foreign indi- viduals or companies that support Assad's govern- ment. A number of Ira- nian entities have been pe- nalized for supporting the Syrian government or fight- ers working to undermine peace in Syria. While Moscow and Washington are continu- ously at odds over Syria, the U.S. has not imposed any Syria-related sanctions on Russia. SYRIA Trump administration sanctions 271 in chemical attack By Kim Tong-Hyung The Associated Press SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA North Korea marks the founding anniversary of its military on Tuesday, and South Korea and its allies are bracing for the possibil- ity that it could conduct an- other nuclear test or launch an intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time. North Korea often marks significant dates by display- ing its military capability. It so far has carried out five nuclear tests. Such a move could test the developing North Ko- rea policies of U.S. Presi- dent Donald Trump, who has reportedly settled on a strategy that empha- sizes increased pressure on North Korea with the help of China, the North's only major ally, instead of mil- itary options or trying to overthrow North Korea's government. Trump spoke by phone with both the Japanese and Chinese leaders Mon- day. Chinese state broad- caster CCTV quoted Pres- ident Xi Jinping as telling Trump that China strongly opposes North Korea's nu- clear weapons program and hopes "all parties will exercise restraint and avoid aggravating the sit- uation." Japanese Prime Minis- ter Shinzo Abe and Trump agreed to urge North Korea to refrain from what Abe called provocative actions. "The North Korean nuclear and missile problem is an extremely serious security threat to not only the in- ternational community but also our country," the Japa- nese leader told reporters in Tokyo afterward. Recent U.S. commercial satellite images indicate increased activity around North Korea's nuclear test site, and third-generation dictator Kim Jong Un has said the country's prepara- tion for an ICBM launch is in its "final stage." South Korea's Defense Ministry has said North Korea appears ready to con- duct such "strategic provo- cations" at any time. South Korean Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, the coun- try's acting leader in place of ousted President Park Geun-hye, who has been ar- rested over corruption alle- gations, has instructed his military to strengthen its "immediate response pos- ture" in case North Korea does something significant on Tuesday's anniversary. There is also a possibil- ity that North Korea, fac- ing potential changes in re- gional dynamics as Wash- ington presses Beijing to pressure North Korea more aggressively, opts to mark the anniversary with a mis- sile launch of lesser mag- nitude. North Korea sepa- rately fired what U.S. offi- cials said were a Scud-type missile and a midrange missile earlier this month, but the launches were ana- lyzed as failures. While the U.S. has dis- patched what Trump called an "armada" of ships to the region, including an air- craft carrier, U.S. officials have told The Associated Press that the administra- tion doesn't intend to mil- itarily respond to a North Korean nuclear or missile test. South Korea's Yon- hap news agency reported Monday that South Korean naval ships will conduct a training exercise with the aircraft carrier, the USS Carl Vinson. In a statement released late Friday, North Korea's Foreign Ministry accused Trump of driving the re- gion into an "extremely dangerous phase" with the dispatch of the aircraft car- rier and said the North was ready to stand up against any threat posed by the United States. EAST ASIA South Korea, allies brace for next North Korea act By Robert Burns The Associated Press KABUL, AFGHANISTAN The United States must confront Russia for provid- ing weapons to the Taliban for use against American- backed forces in Afghani- stan, top U.S. military offi- cials said Monday. At a news conference with Defense Secretary Jim Mattis at his side, Gen. John Nicholson, the Amer- ican commander in Af- ghanistan, wouldn't pro- vide specifics about Rus- sia's role in Afghanistan. But said he would "not re- fute" that Moscow's in- volvement includes giving weapons to the Taliban. Earlier Monday, a senior U.S. military official told reporters in Kabul that Russia was giving machine guns and other medium- weight weapons. The Tali- ban are using the weapons in the southern provinces of Helmand, Kandahar and Uruzgan, according to the official, who briefed journalists on intelligence information on condition of anonymity. Russia denies that it provides any such support to the Taliban, which ruled Afghanistan until the U.S.- led invasion in 2001. Rus- sia says contacts are lim- ited to safeguarding se- curity and getting the hard-line religious fun- damentalists to recon- cile with the government — which Washington has failed for years to advance. Russia also has promoted easing global sanctions on Taliban leaders who prove cooperative. Asked about Russia's activity in Afghanistan, where it fought a bloody war in the 1980s and with- drew in defeat, Mattis al- luded to the increasing U.S. concerns. "We'll engage with Rus- sia diplomatically," Mattis said. "We'll do so where we can, but we're going to have to confront Rus- sia where what they're do- ing is contrary to interna- tional law or denying the sovereignty of other coun- tries." "For example," Mattis told reporters in the Af- ghan capital, "any weap- ons being funneled here from a foreign country would be a violation of in- ternational law." Mattis met with Pres- ident Ashraf Ghani and other senior government officials just hours after the nation's defense min- ister and Army chief re- signed over a massacre of more than 140 Afghan troops at a military base last Friday. The insurgent assault was the biggest ever on a military base in Afghan- istan, involving multiple gunmen and suicide bomb- ers in army uniforms who penetrated the compound of the 209th Corps of the Afghan National Army in northern Balkh prov- ince on Friday, killing and wounding scores. AFGHANISTAN US general suggests Russia is arming Taliban WONGMAYE-E—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS North Koreans wave as they march next to a float display of models of different missiles across Kim Il Sung Square during a military parade to celebrate the 105th birth anniversary of Kim Il Sung in Pyongyang, North Korea. InPrintEveryTuesday-Thursday-Saturday Online:Publishes24/7 www.redbluffdailynews.com Threeadditionalonline locations at no extra cost! 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