On the 1st (local time), the U.S. Biden administration imposed sanctions on three North Korean entities and two individuals who have been sources of funding for the North Korean government through illegal foreign currency earning activities overseas.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced on its website that it designated three North Korean entities, including Chilseong Trading Corporation and Chosun Baekho Trading Corporation, as well as two North Korean nationals, Hwang Gil-su and Park Hwa-sung, who have been engaged in revenue-generating activities for the North Korean regime and the Workers' Party, as sanctions targets.
The U.S. government believes that North Korea is financing its nuclear weapons development, missile development, and weapons of mass destruction (WMD) development programs through such illegal foreign currency earnings, and has been focusing efforts on blocking illegal funds.
Chilseong Trading Corporation, affiliated with the North Korean regime, has played a role in illegally earning foreign currency and gathering information. Baekho Trading Corporation, under the North Korean Ministry of People's Armed Forces, has been funding the North Korean regime by promoting art and construction projects in the Middle East and Africa since the 1980s. Additionally, Hwang Gil-su and Park Hwa-sung established a company called Congo Acond SARL in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) and have generated revenue through various local government projects.
Meanwhile, North Korea has continued provocations this year, including the test launch of the Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on the 18th of last month, which has a range that can reach the U.S. mainland. South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities assess that North Korea is likely to conduct a test launch of an ICBM equipped with solid fuel propulsion and a seventh nuclear test in the near future.
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