WASHINGTON, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. has imposed economic sanctions on six financiers and three shipping companies for supporting Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s "weapons proliferation and illicit finance efforts," the U.S. Treasury Department announced Tuesday.

The action to six individuals and three entities "is designed to counter attempts to circumvent U.S. and U.N. sanctions" and to prevent DPRK government "from accessing the U.S. financial system," said Treasury Department in a press release.

The Treasury Department alleged these individuals and entities are linked to DPRK's "procurement of weapons of mass destruction-related materials and proliferation activities."

The sanctioned individuals were associated with the Foreign Trade Bank, DPRK's primary foreign exchange bank, and Tanchon Commercial Bank, a financial arm of the Korea Mining Development Trading Corporation. The three shipping companies are sanctioned for using deliberate and evasive methods to conceal and ship arms and related material into DPRK, the Treasury Department alleged in the statement.

According to the Treasury Department's designation, "any property or interest in property of the designated persons in the possession of U.S. persons or within U.S. jurisdiction must be frozen."

U.S. citizens are also prohibited from conducting business with these designated persons.