US Imposes Sanctions On Groups Related To North Korea-Russia

Russian/Military Alexey Konovov/TASS

JAKARTA - The United States (US) has imposed sanctions on a network of five groups and one for enabling funding between Russia and North Korea to support Moscow's war in Ukraine and Pyongyang's weapons program.

"Today's actions hold the parties who have assisted the DPRK (North Korean People's Democratic Republic) and Russia in avoiding sanctions," the US Treasury said.

The measures also demonstrate the US's commitment to cutting off networks that facilitate the funding of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and DPRK ballistic missiles that violate the law and support Russia's illegal war against Ukraine.

The increasing financial cooperation between Russia and (North Korea) directly threatens international security and the global financial system, said US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller.

"Russia is increasingly dependent on the DPRK because they face heavy losses on the battlefield and increased international isolation," he added.

The new sanctions reveal how Russian President Vladimir Putin's administration uses illegal financial schemes to help North Korea access an international banking system that is a violation of UN Security Council sanctions.

The US move comes days after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met with top Russian security official Sergei Shoigu and discussed deepening strategic dialogue between the two countries, according to state media reports by KCNA.

The United States and Ukraine, as well as independent analysts, said Kim was assisting Russia by supplying rockets and missiles in exchange for economic and other military assistance from Moscow.

The sanctions target financial schemes carried out by the Foreign Trade Bank (FTB) managed by the North Korean government and Korea Kwangson Banking Corporation, where both of them were sanctioned first from the US.

One of the schemes regulated by the Central Bank of Russia is the MRB Bank, which is based in the South Ossetia region of Georgia, acting on behalf of a designated Russian bank for secret banking relations with North Korea's Foreign Trade Bank.