The United States Treasury Department said the U.S. announced on Friday fresh sanctions on two Russian nationals and three Russian companies over their support for Pyongyang’s weapon program. The move came a day after the U.S. Defense Department published an intelligence report that two recent missile launches by North Korea were tests for a new ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile) system.
US sanctions Russians over support for North Korea weapons program: AFP News Agency
— ANI (@ANI) March 11, 2022
In a statement, Brian Nelson, the Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said that most of this activity also violates United Nations prohibitions with respect to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Pyongyang has carried out numerous missile tests since the start of 2022, asserting the two most recent launches were for satellite development.
According to the US official, the 26th February and 4th March launches marked a grave escalation. Nelson added North Korea keeps on testing ballistic missiles in flagrant violation of international law, posing a grave threat to global stability.
UNSC Failed to Persuade Russia, China
America and Western partners on the UNSC failed on March 7 to persuade Moscow and Beijing to back a text noting Pyongyang’s violations of resolutions on missile technology. In spite of international sanctions over its atomic weapons, N. Korea has overlooked US dialogue offers since high-profile discussions between former US President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un collapsed in 2019.
Rather than diplomacy, DPRK has doubled down on North Korean Supreme Leader’s drive to modernize its armed forces, warning in Jan. 2022 that it could abandon a self-imposed suspension on testing atomic weapons and long-range missiles.
Furthermore, the Treasury Department named the Russians as Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Chasovnikov and Aleksandr Andreyevich Gayevoy, both of Vladivostok. In addition, it named the Russian companies as RK Briz OOO, Zeel–M Co., and Apollon OOO. Unfortunately, the firms and individuals couldn’t instantly be reached for remarks.
Source: Web
The sanctions freeze any assets held by Russian companies and individuals in America and forbid business dealings with them. Past American punitive actions and international sanctions at the U.N. have failed to arrest Pyongyang’s weapon’s development over the past years, and Beijing and Moscow, which backed UN sanctions after DPRK’s last intercontinental ballistic missile and nuclear weapons tests in 207, have since urged sanctions easing to encourage dialogue with Pyongyang.
Read Also: N. Korea Fire Missiles from Train after New US Sanctions
