The U.S. government on Thursday sanctioned three senior North Korean Workers’ Party officials after Pyongyang stepped up its missile launches into the Sea of Japan in recent weeks.
The U.S. State Department announced in a statement that it is «taking action» as part of its effort to prevent North Korea from making progress on its «illegal» ballistic missile and weapons of mass destruction programs.
According to Washington, the «unprecedented» launch of more than 60 ballistic missiles so far this year, including tests of a multitude of intercontinental missiles, pose serious security risks to the region and the entire world.
For this reason, the Treasury Department has decided to sanction the chairman of the Defense Research Academy and member of the Workers’ Party Committee (WPK), Jon Il Ho; the chief secretary of the WPK’s provincial committee in Kangwon province, Kim Su Gil; as well as another member of the WPK Central Committee, Yu Jin.
These sanctions mean that all property and interests in property owned by the named individuals that are in the United States, or in the possession or control of U.S. persons, are blocked and must be reported to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). In addition, any entity that is owned, directly or indirectly, 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons is also blocked.
In addition, persons who engage in certain transactions with designated persons or entities may be exposed to the sanctions. In addition, any foreign financial institution that knowingly facilitates a significant transaction or provides significant financial services for any of the designated persons or entities could also be subject to sanctions, the State Department has detailed.
