The United States imposes ICC sanctions immediately after the announcement of the Nobel Peace Prize... “Cooperation with alliances dependent on U.S. defense”

(Washington = Yonhap News) Correspondent Baek Na-ri = The U.S. Donald Trump administration announced high-intensity sanctions against the International Criminal Court (ICC) on the 9th (local time) and said it expects cooperation from the alliance.

Although he did not mention a specific country, he used the expression 'an alliance that relies on the U.S. military for defense.' Immediately after the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to a person who devoted his life to protecting international law, including his work as an ICC judge, the United States appears to be establishing a confrontational stance by directly attacking the ICC.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the ICC sanctions through a video message that day and said, "I hope that our allies, many of whom are members of the ICC and rely on U.S. military forces for defense, will take action to stop this rogue court."

“If they do not, the United States will continue its campaign to tear the ICC to pieces until Americans are no longer threatened,” Rubio added.

Secretary Rubio did not specifically name allies from which the United States expects cooperation. It is possible that it was aimed at North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member countries with a high level of involvement in the ICC or Japan, which makes significant financial contributions to the ICC.

The ICC is a permanent international tribunal established in 2002 under the Rome Statute for the purpose of punishing those who have committed crimes against humanity, such as war crimes and genocide, and Korea is also a party to the Rome Statute. The United States did not join the ICC, saying it was trying to punish U.S. troops for war crimes.

Secretary Rubio emphasized that both Republicans and Democrats oppose the ICC, but President Trump is the only one who has taken action, saying, “Either the ICC will end the threat (to the United States), or we will end the ICC.”

These sanctions from the United States freeze all of the ICC's assets under U.S. jurisdiction. American companies and individuals must stop doing business with the ICC within six months.

The U.S. ICC sanctions were announced shortly after the news that Nabi Pillai, 85, interim judge of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Since Pillai served as an ICC judge and President Trump has publicly expressed his envy of winning the Nobel Peace Prize, some are speculating that he may have intentionally announced sanctions.

The Associated Press reported that these sanctions were prepared long before the Nobel Peace Prize was announced.

However, given the timing of the announcement, we cannot rule out the possibility that Pillai's award was taken into consideration. As soon as the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to a person who devoted his entire life to protecting international law, including his work as an ICC judge, the United States, which calls for the disbandment of the ICC, began an aggressive response.

Last August, the U.S. State Department declared sanctions on two top ICC officials, including Director Tomoko Akane, and pledged to "systematically dismantle the ICC." Director Akane is Japanese.