US Treasury Department Sanctions Companies Related to North Korean Overseas Workers Deployment

Warnings to China and Russia Even in the Final Days of the Trump Administration

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] The U.S. Department of the Treasury has imposed sanctions on North Korean and Russian companies involved in the overseas dispatch of North Korean workers.

On the 19th (local time), the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) added Cholsan Trading, a North Korean company operating in Russia, and Mokran LLC, a Russian construction company, to the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list.

OFAC explained that the two companies are involved in, facilitate, or are responsible for the export of forced labor from North Korea. Cholsan Trading is known to have been involved in the process of obtaining work permits that allow North Korean workers to enter and work in Russia.

Under this measure, all assets of these companies located in the U.S. or owned or controlled by U.S. persons must be reported to OFAC.

Those involved in transactions with these entities may be subject to sanctions, and foreign financial institutions may face "secondary sanctions" (third-party sanctions).

This is the first time since March that OFAC has taken action related to North Korea sanctions. It is presumed to reflect the intention to block North Korea’s foreign currency earnings through the dispatch of overseas workers, even at the end of the Trump administration. Countries employing North Korean workers were required by the UN Security Council’s sanctions resolutions to repatriate all such workers to North Korea by December 22 of last year.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said, "North Korea has a long history of sending its people to work in harsh conditions to financially support Pyongyang and its weapons programs."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.