U.S. Department of the Treasury

 

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated four individuals and one entity that have connections with the North Korean Government and North Korea’s weapons proliferation efforts.  Today’s action is designed to counter North Korea’s attempts to circumvent U.S. and United Nations (UN) sanctions, as well as maintain the effectiveness of U.S. sanctions on individuals and entities that are linked to the North Korean Government’s weapons of mass destruction procurement network.  These designations were taken pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13687, which targets officials, agencies, instrumentalities, and controlled entities of the Government of North Korea and Workers’ Party of Korea and their supporters.  As a result of today’s action, any property or interest in property of the designated persons in the possession of U.S. persons or within U.S. jurisdiction must be frozen.  Additionally, transactions by U.S. persons involving the designated persons are generally prohibited.

 

“North Korea’s continued violation of international law and its commitment to the proliferation of ballistic missiles and weapons of mass destruction pose a serious threat to the United States and to global peace and security,” said Acting Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Adam J. Szubin.  “Today’s designations underscore our ongoing efforts to obstruct the flow of funds used to augment North Korea’s nuclear capabilities.”

 

The following four individuals and one company designated today pursuant to E.O. 13687 have ties to Korea Mining Development Trading Corporation (KOMID), which was previously designated by the U.S. and UN: Kim Sok Chol, Ri Chong Chol, Kim Kwang Hyok, Hwang Su Man, and EKO Development and Investment Company. 

 

Kim Sok Chol, the North Korean Ambassador to Burma, operates as a KOMID facilitator and was designated for his official status as a North Korean Government official.  He is paid by KOMID for his assistance and arranges meetings on behalf of KOMID, including a meeting between KOMID and Burmese defense-related persons to discuss financial matters.  Kim Kwang Hyok, a KOMID official in Burma who works with Kim Sok Chol and Ri Chong Chol, a KOMID official in Pyongyang, were designated for acting for or on behalf of KOMID.  Egypt-based Hwang Su Man was designated for materially assisting and providing support to, and acting for or on behalf of, KOMID. 

 

Hwang Su Man’s company, EKO Development and Investment Company, is a North Korean Government entity located in Egypt and is also designated pursuant to E.O. 13687 for being owned or controlled by him and for providing material assistance to KOMID.  Hwang Su Man and his company have helped KOMID market North Korean weapons systems to foreign countries.

 

For identifying information on the individuals and entities designated today, click here​.

 

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