On November 13th, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated four individuals and one entity that have connections with the North Korean Government and North Korea’s weapons proliferation efforts. This action is designed to counter North Korea’s attempts to circumvent U.S. and United Nations sanctions, as well as maintain the effectiveness of U.S. sanctions on individuals and entities that are linked to the North Korean Government’s weapons of mass destruction procurement network.
These designations were taken pursuant to Executive Order 13687, which targets officials, agencies, instrumentalities, and controlled entities of the Government of North Korea and Workers’ Party of Korea and their supporters.As a result of this action, 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.Additionally, transactions by U.S. persons involving the designated persons are generally prohibited.
The following four individuals and one company designated pursuant to Executive Order 13687 have ties to Korea Mining Development Trading Corporation, or KOMID, which was previously designated by the U.S. and UN: North Korea’s Ambassador to Burma, Kim Sok Chol, a KOMID official in Burma named Ri Chong Chol, a KOMID official in Pyongyang named Kim Kwang Hyok, Hwang Su Man an Egypt-based actor supporting KOMID, and EKO Development and Investment Company.
“North Korea’s continued violation of international law and its commitment to the proliferation of ballistic missiles and weapons of mass destruction pose a serious threat to the United States and to global peace and security,” said Acting Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Adam J. Szubin.Mr. Szubin said these designations “underscore our ongoing efforts to obstruct the flow of funds used to augment North Korea’s nuclear capabilities.”
