UNITED NATIONS, May 16 (Reuters) – A confidential report by
a U.N. panel of experts has recommended that 15 new North Korean
entities and individuals be sanctioned by the U.N. Security
Council. It will be up to the 15-member council whether or not
it follows the recommendations.
Increasingly tough financial sanctions, an arms embargo and
other international restrictions on trade with North Korea have
significantly delayed expansion of Pyongyang’s illicit nuclear
arms program, according to the latest annual report of the U.N.
sanctions-monitoring group, seen by Reuters on Tuesday.
ID:nL2N0DV41Y]
The new recommendations for sanctions are:
The Ministry of Atomic Energy Industry – set up by North
Korea in April to modernize the country’s atomic energy
industry, according to North Korean state news agency KCNA. The
ministry will put North Korea “on a solid foundation of latest
science and technology so as to increase the production of
nuclear materials, improve their quality and further develop the
independent nuclear energy industry,” KCNA reported on April 12.
The Munitions Industry Department of the Central Committee
of the Korea Workers Party – manages North Korea’s weapons
production and arms exports and is already blacklisted by the
United States and the European Union.
The State Space Development Bureau – also set up by North
Korea in April to create and implement a space development
program, according to KCNA. “The DPRK is a full-fledged
satellite manufacturer and launcher,” KCNA reported. “It is an
invariable stand of the DPRK to develop the country into a
world-class space power by exercising its legitimate right to
space development for peaceful purposes.”
Hesong Trading Corporation – a Pyongyang-based entity whose
parent company is Korea Mining Development Corporation (KOMID).
Hesong was designated by the U.S. Treasury Department in 2005
because of its association with KOMID, which is Pyongyang’s main
arms dealer and main exporter of goods and equipment related to
ballistic missiles and conventional weapons. The European Union
designated Hesong in 2011.
Minister of Atomic Energy Industry – who has not yet been
nominated according to the U.N. experts.
Ju Kyu-Chang, director of the Korea Workers Party Munitions
Industry Department – Little is known about elderly and
silver-haired Ju, 84, but he appears to be a key member of the
North Korean team developing nuclear weapons. He was sanctioned
by the European Union in 2011 and by the United States in March.
Ju is believed to have trained as a metal alloy specialist and
studied in Russia. According to the European Union, Ju had
oversight of the two tests of North Korea’s intermediate-range
Taepodong-2 ballistic missiles in 2006 and 2009. Less is known
about his connection to the development of nuclear weapons.
Jon Pyong-Ho, former director of the Korea Workers Party
Munitions Industry Department – was known to be a confidant of
the North’s former leader Kim Jong-il and a member of the
powerful Defense Commission. A South Korean lawmaker said in
2006 that Jon, 87, and the Guidance Bureau of the Korea Workers
Party had control of the country’s nuclear programs.
Pak To-Chun, Secretary of the Korea Workers Party Munitions
Industry Department – is a full member of the Korean Worker
Party’s (KWP) Political Bureau, its highest decision-making
body, as well the National Defense Commission, according to the
U.S. State Department, which blacklisted Pak, 69, in March.
Hong Sung-mu, Deputy Director, Korea Workers Party Munitions
Industry Department – is a senior official in the department
that manages North Korea’s weapons production and arms exports.
Ri Ung-won, chief secretary State Academy of Sciences – was
awarded the Order of Kim Jong-il for his involvement in North
Korea’s long-range rocket launch in December, when the country
put a satellite in space for the first time, according to KCNA.
Choe Chun-Sik, director, Second Academy of Natural Sciences
– The academy is linked to North Korea’s military and was
blacklisted by the United Nations in March in response to North
Korea’s third nuclear test. It is a national-level organization
responsible for research and development of North Korea’s
advanced weapons systems, including missiles and probably
nuclear weapons, according to the U.S. State Department.
O Hak-choi – is linked to Hesong Trading Corporation, whose
parent company is Pyongyang’s main arms dealer and main exporter
of goods and equipment related to ballistic missiles and
conventional weapons.
Aleksandr Viktorovich Zykov of Kazakhstan and Iurii Lunov
and Igor Karev-Popov, both of the Ukraine – All three are
recommended for sanctions for their involvement in North
Korea-related arms deals. Little is known about them or the
deals.
(Sources: U.S. Treasury and State Departments, Reuters, KCNA)
(Reporting by Michelle Nichols)
