The South Korean government announced Friday sanctions against four individuals and three North Korean companies in retaliation for the launch of a long-range ballistic missile.
The South Korean Foreign Ministry has reported that those sanctioned are involved in nuclear and missile development and financing, which threaten the peace and security of the Korean Peninsula and the international community.
The individuals sanctioned are the director of the General Political Bureau, Jeon Gyeong Taek; the former director of the Department of Propaganda, Park Gwang Ho; and the owners of the company Congo Aconde SARL, identified as Park Hwa Song and Hwan Kil Soo, who are dedicated to the construction and construction of projects with local governments that generate benefits for the cabinet of the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un.
The sanctioned companies are the aforementioned Congo Aconde SARL, considered a front company for the second sanctioned company, Chosun Beakho Trading Company. This is a sub-organization of the North Korean Army involved in construction projects. The latest designated company is Chilsung Trading Company, according to the South Korean Foreign Ministry statement.
This is the tenth package of unilateral sanctions against North Korea since Yoon Sul Yeol became president of South Korea. In this case, these people and companies have previously been sanctioned by the United States or the European Union.
“The South Korean government has made it clear that North Korea’s provocations will inevitably have a cost,” reads the letter, which states that it will continue to strengthen “close cooperation with the international community” so that North Korea “stops creating tension” and participate in talks on denuclearization.