Seoul sanctions Russian ships and firms for arms and money transfers involving Pyongyang

South Korea has announced unilateral sanctions on two Russian vessels it accused of being ‘involved in transporting military supplies to North Korea in violation of Security Council sanctions,’ as well as two Russian organizations and as many individuals it said were ‘financing North Korea’s nuclear and missile development through sending North Koreans overseas’ for work.

The two designated ships, Lady R and Angara, were targeted for ‘carrying large quantities of containers and transporting military supplies between Russia and North Korea.’ They will not be allowed to call at any South Korean port without special permission, the foreign ministry in Seoul said.

It also said that Intellect LLC and its representative, Sergey Kozlov, were being sanctioned for ‘providing the necessary identity documents for North Korean IT personnel to operate in Russia.’ The other designated company, Sodeistvie and its representative Aleksandr Panfilov, ‘were involved in sending North Korean workers to Russia by expediently supporting their entry and stay in Russia,’ the ministry alleged.

‘Our government once again strongly urges Russia to immediately stop all illegal cooperation with North Korea, including military cooperation that violates Security Council resolutions, and fulfill its obligations as a permanent member of the UN Security Council,’ the ministry added.

On 29 March, Russia vetoed the renewal of the UN’s Panel of Experts (‘PoE’) mission to monitor North Korea’s compliance with international sanctions, amid accusations by the United States, South Korea and others that Pyongyang is supplying weapons to Moscow that Vladimir Putin is using in Ukraine.

https://www.mofa.go.kr/www/brd/m_4080/view.do?seq=374842&page=1