Politics

Seoul sanctions 8 North Koreans for arms trade, cybercrime

Seoul, Dec 27 (EFE).- South Korea imposed independent sanctions Wednesday on eight North Koreans, including the head of the country’s spy agency, for their participation in the arms trade and cyber activities.

North Korean intelligence agency leader Ri Chang-ho, included on the list as he was behind the main cyber attacks suffered by South Korea and perpetrated by hacker groups such as Kimsuky, Lazarus and Andariel.

Also included in the list is Park Young-han, head of Beijing New Technology, accused of managing the arms trade on behalf of the North Korean Mining Development Trading Corporation, responsible for conventional arms exports and the supply of ballistic missiles equipment.

Also included was Yun Chol, former secretary of the North Korean embassy in China, who was involved in the trade of lithium-6, a key material for nuclear weapons whose trade is prohibited by the United Nations Security Council.

The remaining five are Ryang Su-nyo, Kim Sung-su, Pae Won-chol, Ri Sin-song and Kim Pyong-chol of Pan Systems Pyongyang, an arms trafficking company under North Korean control, South Korean Yonhap agency said.

Under these sanctions, anyone seeking to have business deals with those on the sanctions list must obtain approval from the Bank of Korea or the country’s financial authorities.

The new round of sanctions comes after North Korea tested an intercontinental ballistic missile on Dec. 18, marking its fifth launch of this type this year, a record number that underlines the progress of North Korea’s weapons program. EFE

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