EU sanctions individuals and companies involved in military and economic cooperation between North Korea and Russia

The European Union has added three individuals and four entities to its autonomous sanctions list concerning North Korea, targeting links ranging from support for Russia’s use of North Korean missiles and the employment of North Korean workers on Russian construction sites to joint industrial projects and shipments of refined petroleum products. The measures expand European sanctions against Russo-North Korean cooperation which, according to the Council, contributes both to Pyongyang’s military programs and to Russia’s war against Ukraine.

On October 12, the European Union sanctioned three individuals and four entities for the role attributed to them by the Council in supporting North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic programs, violating UN sanctions, and developing military and economic cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow. The list captures several components of this relationship: a North Korean specialist whom the Council says was sent to Russia to support the use of North Korean missiles, a Russian construction company that employed North Korean workers, joint industrial projects, and fuel shipments to Pyongyang.

The measures are adopted under the EU’s autonomous regime for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, which complements sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council. Following the new designations, the European autonomous list comprises 80 individuals and 25 entities, in addition to the UN measures that member states are already obliged to implement.

In brief

The EU sanctioned three individuals and four entities for supporting North Korea’s military programs, circumventing UN sanctions, and cooperation between North Korea and Russia.

Among the designated individuals is Ri Song Jin, whom the Council says worked in Russia as a technician supporting the use of North Korean missiles.

Russian company Samolet Group and its director, Anna Nikolaevna Akinshina, have been sanctioned for using North Korean workers in construction projects in Vladivostok.

Other designations concern Russo-North Korean industrial cooperation and shipments of refined petroleum products from Russia to North Korea.

The assets of the designated individuals and entities are frozen in the EU, while natural persons are also subject to travel restrictions.

One of the cases through which the Council directly links North Korea to the war in Ukraine is that of Ri Song Jin. The EU describes him as a researcher within the National Aerospace Technology Administration and an official of North Korea’s Missile General Bureau, sent to Russia as a technician to support Russian forces’ use of missiles originating from North Korea. His designation thus combines two reasons that have become increasingly difficult to separate in European policy toward Pyongyang: the development of North Korea’s ballistic program and the transfer of its military capabilities to Russia.

The relationship between the two states, however, is not limited to weapons. Samolet Group, one of the Russian companies now included on the list, and its general director, Anna Nikolaevna Akinshina, have been sanctioned for using North Korean workers in construction projects in Vladivostok. UN resolutions adopted in 2017 drastically restricted the employment of North Korean citizens abroad and required states to repatriate them, because the income generated through such programs can provide foreign currency to the Pyongyang regime.

The Council also includes industrial cooperation among the reasons for the new designations. Vladimir Aleksandrovich Sokolov, founder and chairman of the Russian holding company Black Horse, has been sanctioned for promoting commercial and industrial projects with North Korea, including a Russo-North Korean investment project in Primorsky Krai. Black Horse and its subsidiary Golden Autumn Agroholding are also among the designated entities.

This type of cooperation falls within an area already restricted by international sanctions. UN Security Council Resolution 2375 prohibits the establishment and operation of new joint ventures or cooperative entities with North Korean individuals and companies, precisely to reduce Pyongyang’s access to revenue, investment, and commercial relationships that could support its military programs.

The fourth sanctioned entity, Paekyangsan Shipping Co Ltd, brings the Russo-North Korean relationship into the area of energy supplies. The company operates the North Korean-flagged vessel Paek Yang San 1, which the Council says has been involved in shipments of refined petroleum products from Russia to North Korea. Security Council Resolution 2397 sets strict limits on such deliveries and provides for additional measures against maritime shipments used to violate the restrictions.

The Council describes some of these exchanges using the term “arms-for-oil,” in which North Korea’s military support for Russia develops in parallel with fuel transfers and other forms of economic cooperation. The new designations alone do not demonstrate the existence of a direct and identical exchange for every individual or company on the list. They do show, however, that the EU increasingly treats the relationship between Moscow and Pyongyang as a system combining weapons, technology, labor, investment, and energy supplies.

This approach substantially expands the logic of European sanctions toward North Korea. The regime was initially built around nuclear programs, ballistic missiles, and other weapons of mass destruction, and the EU has transposed UN sanctions into European law since 2006. In addition, the Council has created its own autonomous measures, allowing it to designate additional individuals and companies when it considers that they support prohibited programs or contribute to circumventing international restrictions.

Cooperation with Russia has meanwhile become an increasingly important criterion. In June, the European Council condemned the deployment of North Korean forces in support of Russia’s war against Ukraine and the continued military assistance provided to Moscow. The new sanctions show that the European response focuses not exclusively on ammunition deliveries or North Korean soldiers, but also seeks to track the economic infrastructure surrounding the bilateral relationship.

For the individuals and entities added to the list, the consequences are direct within European jurisdiction. Their assets are frozen, and EU citizens and companies are prohibited from making funds or economic resources available to them, directly or indirectly. The three individuals are also subject to travel bans in the Union.

Sanctions are restrictive measures adopted by the Council, not criminal convictions. The individual reasons reflect the legal and political assessment on the basis of which the EU decided to include each individual or entity on the list, and the immediate effect is to limit their access to assets, financing, and economic relationships under European jurisdiction.

The October 12 decision thus brings together in a single round of sanctions several of the channels through which the Russo-North Korean relationship has expanded beyond direct military cooperation. From technicians and missiles to workers, industrial companies, and vessels transporting fuel, the EU is seeking to treat the relationship between the two states as a broader economic and strategic network, in which support for Russia’s war and North Korea’s ability to finance its military programs can reinforce each other.

https://2eu.brussels/ro/news/ue-sanctioneaza-persoane-si-companii-implicate-in-cooperarea-militara-si-economica-dintre-coreea-de-nord-si-rusia