On September 26, the U.S. Department of the Treasury took further steps to cut off North Korea’s access to the international financial system. The Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, has designated eight North Korean banks and 26 individuals and identified two North Korean banks linked to North Korean financial networks in response to North Korea’s ongoing development of weapons of mass destruction and continued violations of United Nations Security Council Resolutions.
The sanctions single out North Koreans working in China, Russia, Libya and the United Arab Emirates who act as representatives of North Korean banks. Nineteen of the 26 North Koreans recently designated operate in China.
As a result of these sanctions, any property or interests in property of the designated persons in the possession or control of U.S. persons or within the United States must be blocked.
“We are targeting North Korean banks and financial facilitators acting as representatives for North Korean banks across the globe,” said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. “This further advances our strategy to fully isolate North Korea in order to achieve our broader objectives of a peaceful and denuclearized Korean peninsula. This action is also consistent with UN Security Council Resolutions.”
These steps are being taken by the Treasury Department to complement U.N Security Council resolution 2375, which was adopted unanimously on September 11, 2017 and includes the strongest sanctions ever imposed on North Korea.
“It is time for all responsible nations to join forces to isolate the North Korean menace,” said President Donald Trump. “North Korean nuclear weapons and missile development threaten the entire world with unthinkable loss of life. All nations must act now to ensure the regime’s complete denuclearization.”
