The US Treasury Department on Wednesday imposed sanctions on three companies and two individuals for “illicitly” generating income for the North Korean government.
The sanctions come after months of internationally condemned missile launches by Pyongyang – the most recent of which took place last month.
North Korea’s “unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs threaten international security and regional stability,” Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson said in a statement. “The United States remains committed to targeting the regime’s global illicit networks that generate revenue for these destabilizing activities.”
According to a news release from the Treasury, the agency sanctioned Chilsong Trading Corporation and Korea Paekho Trading Corporation “for being agencies, instrumentalities, or controlled entities of the Government of North Korea or the Workers’ Party of Korea.”
“Chilsong is subordinate to the Government of North Korea, which uses trading companies like Chilsong to earn foreign currency, collect intelligence, and provide cover status for intelligence operatives” and “Paekho has generated funds for the DPRK government since the 1980s by conducting art and construction projects on behalf of regimes throughout the Middle East and Africa,” the news release said.
Wednesday’s sanctions also targeted Hwang Kil Su and Pak Hwa Song, and their Democratic Republic of the Congo-based company Congo Aconde SARL for generating revenue for the North Korean government.
This story is breaking and will be updated.
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