On 12 October, the Council of the EU decided to impose additional sanctions on North Korea over its nuclear and missile programmes, as well as the deepening of military and economic co-operation with Russia.
This is stated in an official press release by the Council of the EU.
The new restrictions provide for three individuals and four organisations to be added to the sanctions list. In total, 80 individuals and 25 legal entities from the DPRK are currently under EU sanctions.
The Council of the EU expressed concern over the continuation of North Korea’s developments in the field of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, as well as the expansion of co-operation between Moscow and Pyongyang.
In particular, this concerns the deployment of North Korean troops in Russia, the use of DPRK citizens’ labour on Russian territory, the establishment of joint commercial ventures, and trade under an “arms in exchange for oil” scheme.
The EU stressed that such co-operation poses a serious threat to international peace and security. It also urged Pyongyang to halt its illegal developments and to fully, irreversibly and under international supervision abandon its programmes to develop weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles.
EU sanctions complement the restrictions imposed by UN Security Council resolutions. In particular, they include a ban on establishing joint ventures with DPRK representatives, the repatriation of North Korean workers from abroad, and limits on oil supplies to North Korea.
- On 12 October, EU foreign ministers decided to impose almost 1,600 new sanctions against Russia’s military-industrial complex.