Russia Under Fire: South Korea Sanctions Russian Ships and Individuals Over North Korean Ties
Daniel Kim Views
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The government has designated two Russian ships involved in the transportation of military supplies to North Korea, two Russian institutions, and two individuals involved in the procurement of funds for North Korea’s nuclear and missile development through the dispatch of North Korean overseas workers as targets for independent sanctions against North Korea.
This sanction comes five days after the South Korean and U.S. governments designated two institutions and four individuals involved in North Korea’s illegal IT workforce overseas currency-earning activities as targets for independent sanctions at a working group meeting on North Korean nuclear threats held in Washington D.C. on the 28th of last month. In January, 11 ships involved in illegal maritime transfers and the smuggling of petroleum products to North Korea were also designated as targets for independent sanctions.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the two sanctioned ships transported many containers between Russia and North Korea, which is interpreted as a result of increased exchanges after the North Korea-Russia summit last year.
Recently, foreign media, including the expert panel monitoring the implementation of the UN Security Council’s sanctions against North Korea, also publicly stated that there are circumstances of enormous kickbacks that North Korea receives by sending weapons to be used in the Ukrainian war to Russia. Russian ships carrying containers also consistently traveled between North Korean ports and Vladivostok last year.
The Security Council also mentioned the main contents of the resolution related to North Korea’s arms trade, which are Resolution 1718, paragraph 8 (prohibition of import and export of conventional weapons and related materials), Resolution 1874, paragraphs 9 and 10 (prohibition of export and import of all weapons to North Korea (excluding North Korea’s small arms imports), and Resolution 2270 paragraph 6 and 8 (prohibition of North Korea’s small arms imports).
The government also designated two Russian institutions and their representatives involved in the dispatch of North Korean overseas workers, such as IT personnel, as targets for sanctions. The sanctioned targets are Intellekt LLC (Sergey Mikhaylovich Kozlov) and Sodeistvie (Aleksandr Fyodorovich Panfilov), both of whom were involved in the dispatch of North Korean workers to Russia by supporting their entry and stay in Russia through illegal means.
According to a report by the UN Security Council North Korea Sanctions Committee Panel released on the 21st of last month, there are about 250 court records showing that Russian employers illegally employed North Korean workers over the past two years, and it has been confirmed that at least four of them were issued work permits for North Korean workers. The panel also obtained information that a construction company in Khabarovsk has at least 58 North Korean workers.
As a result, Russia must repatriate North Korean workers in its country under Security Council Resolution 2375 paragraph 17 (prohibition of granting work permits to North Korean overseas workers) and Resolution 2397 paragraph 8 (repatriation of all North Korean residents earning income within national jurisdiction within 24 months, by December 22, 2019).
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, “Our government strongly urges Russia to immediately cease all illegal cooperation with North Korea, including military cooperation that violates Security Council resolutions, and to fulfill its obligations as a permanent member of the UN Security Council.” It added, “We will continue to respond sternly together with the international community.”
It added, “The ships designated as targets for this independent sanction are ships that the head of the national security agency recognizes as requiring special management for entering and leaving trade ports under the Ship Entry and Departure Act Article 4, and the Enforcement Decree of the same Act Article 3, and the captain of the ship must obtain permission for domestic entry from the management agency.”
It also explained, “To conduct financial transactions and foreign exchange transactions with individuals and institutions under the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act Article 15 and the Enforcement Decree of the same Act Article 29 and the Act on Prohibition of Financing for Threats to Public Order and Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction Article 4, prior permission from the Financial Services Commission or the Governor of the Bank of Korea is required.”
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