The United States has imposed sanctions on a Russian Company and two individuals for their alleged involvement in the funding of North Korea's illegal weapons development programme.
In the Treasury’s press release on Thursday, the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said the move was made in response to North Korea's failed attempt to launch a reconnaissance satellite last week.
“In coordination with the Republic of Korea and Japan, the United States sanctioned two individuals and one entity—Jon Jin Yong, Sergey Mikhaylovich Kozlov, and Intellekt LLC—involved in generating revenue for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) unlawful development of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and ballistic missiles,” it said in a press release.
“Today’s action by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is being taken in response to the DPRK’s August 23 attempted launch of a reconnaissance satellite into orbit, marking its second failed attempt to do so in three months,’’ it added.
The U.S. is destabilising such activities alleging that these reconnaissance satellites used ballistic missile technology in clear violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions.
“In furtherance of the Administration’s commitment to coordinate our responses to regional challenges, today’s action—along with the actions of our allies and partners—targets the facilitation networks that enable the DPRK’s ballistic missile and WMD programs, in violation of UN Security Council resolutions,” said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson.
“The United States will continue to coordinate closely with the Republic of Korea and Japan in our collective effort to combat the DPRK’s unlawful and destructive activities.”
The Treasury said the Russia-based Jin Yong worked with Mikhaylovich Kozlov to coordinate the use of DPRK construction workers in Russia and served as a director of one of Kozlov’s companies.
Kozlov assisted Jon Jin Yong in the procurement of items commonly used in the shipbuilding industry.
Jin Yong led a team of DPRK information technology (IT) workers in Russia and worked with Russian nationals to obtain identification documents to validate the DPRK IT team’s accounts on freelance IT work platforms.
“Some of the identity documents were from family members or Russian employees of Kozlov,” the Treasury said.