S. Korea to enforce U.N. financial sanctions on N. Korean officials, bodies

SEOUL, July 27 (Yonhap) -- South Korea said Monday that it will enforce financial
sanctions initiated by the United Nations on North Korean officials and
organizations this week for their involvement in Pyongyang's nuclear and
ballistic missile programs.
The move came after the U.N. Security Council notified Seoul of its recent
adoption of a resolution under which it imposed a travel ban and asset freeze on
five North Korean officials and five organizations of the communist country in
connection with the North's nuclear test in May.
"We will place restrictions on the financial activities of those officials and
organizations based on our foreign exchange transaction laws," the Ministry of
Strategy and Finance said in an e-mailed statement.
"We notified related banks that they should restrict our people, companies and
organizations from doing foreign currency transactions with them ??? The move is
part of efforts to fulfill our obligations as a member of the United Nations," it
said.
The sanctions will go into effect on Wednesday, according to the ministry.
The five officials are Ri Je-son, director of the General Bureau of Atomic
Energy, Yun Ho-ji, director of Namchongang Trading Corp., Ri Hong-sop, former
head of the Yongbyon Nuclear Research Center, Hwang Sok-hwa, a senior official of
the General Bureau of Atomic Energy, and Han Yu-ro, director of Korea Ryongakan
General Trading Corp.
The companies and organizations under the restriction are the General Bureau of
Atomic Energy, Hong Kong Electronics, Namchongang Trading Corp., Korea Kyoksin
Trading Corp. and Korean Tangun Trading Corp.
The ministry said that any transactions with the North Korean officials and
organizations will require a permit from the head of the nation's central bank.
The sanctions came less than two months after the Seoul government froze the
assets of three North Korean companies and banned financial transactions with
them, all of whom are suspected of having ties with the North's missile and
nuclear programs.
It was the first time that South Korea has imposed financial sanctions on a North
Korean company in relation to Pyongyang's ballistic activity, the ministry said.
The North fired a long-range missile on April 5, a move that was unanimously
condemned by the U.N. Security Council. In May, Pyongyang upped the tension by
conducting its second nuclear test, further chilling the already-strained
inter-Korean relations.
kokobj@yna.co.kr
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