US President Donald Trump said on Friday he would lift sanctions by the Finance Ministry to tighten the screws on North Korea to push it to abandon its nuclear program.
"The Treasury Department today announced that additional large penalties would have been added to those already imposed on North Korea," Trump wrote in a tweet on Twitter.
Trump is likely to mean sanctions announced Thursday against two Chinese transport companies accused of trading with North Korea despite international sanctions.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said: "President Trump respects Kim and does not think these sanctions are necessary."
But the head of the House of Representatives intelligence committee, Adam Schiff, strongly criticized President Trump for his decision to cancel sanctions "imposed yesterday ... because he loves Kim."
"It is a hasty, naive and dangerous decision," the Democrat said in a tweet. "The worst is gross incompetence in the White House and chaos there."
John Bolton, the national security adviser to Trump, said Thursday that the aim of the sanctions was to prevent North Korea from conducting planned naval activities.
China has been quick to deny the sanctions against two Chinese shipping companies, saying they are abiding by the international measures imposed to push North Korea to abandon its nuclear program.
