EU sanctions four people for financing the DPRK’s nuclear programme

The EU continues to crack down on sources of funding for the DPRK’s weapons programmes, with the EU Council adding four people to the sanctions list (20 April). Those listed are alleged to have been involved in ‘deceptive financial practices’ suspected of contributing to the DPRK’s nuclear, ballistic or other programmes concerning weapons of mass destruction.

The listings are part of the EU’s autonomous sanctions programme against the DPRK, which runs alongside sanctions imposed by the UN. The latest listing brings the total number of individuals listed autonomously by the EU to 59; the EU has also frozen the assets of nine entities under its own regime. Sanctions are imposed on 80 individuals and 75 entities through the UN.

In a volte face from the heightened rhetoric emanating from both Washington, DC and Pyongyang in recent years, a meeting is proposed between Kim Jong-un and President Trump in the next few months to discuss the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula. This will follow an historic summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Kim Jong-un scheduled for 27 April.

The EU press release can be found here:
http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2018/04/19/north-korea-eu-adds-four-persons-involved-in-financing-of-nuclear-programme-to-sanctions-list/pdf