The U.S. Sanctions a Turkish Company and a North Korean Diplomat

On Thursday, the U.S. government sanctioned a commercial company based in Turkey and its senior executives, as well as a North Korean diplomat, accusing them of violating international sanctions by trading with North Korea in weapons and luxury goods. According to Reuters, these new sanctions come as the U.S. continues to pressure North Korea to halt its nuclear and missile programs. The main goal of the U.S. sanctions is to block financial resources for North Korea's weapons programs. The U.S. Treasury Department stated that the company, SAI Falcon International, which also has a branch in Latvia, will be blacklisted due to its arms exports to North Korea. Hussein Shahin, the president, and Erhan Chulha, the CEO of this company, are also being sanctioned 'for acting directly or indirectly on behalf of SAI Falcon.' Additionally, the U.S. Treasury has sanctioned Ri Sung Un, the economic and commercial attaché at the North Korean embassy in Mongolia. According to the U.S. Treasury, the heads of SAI Falcon invited this North Korean diplomat to Turkey earlier this year to discuss arms transactions. The company's offices in Istanbul and Latvia did not respond to inquiries from Reuters. Steven Mnuchin, the U.S. Treasury Secretary, stated, 'SAI Falcon International and its executives have clearly attempted to violate longstanding United Nations sanctions regarding the export of weapons and luxury goods to North Korea.' SAI Falcon claims on its website that its areas of operation include defense, livestock, energy, and food, and it describes itself as one of the 'largest companies active in the defense sector,' claiming to sell weapons and defense equipment to armed and law enforcement forces in over 30 countries across five continents. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is scheduled to visit Pyongyang on Sunday to continue discussions with Kim Jong Un regarding the dismantling of North Korea's missile and nuclear programs. Part of these negotiations relates to the preparation for a second summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un, expected to take place in the coming months. In their first meeting held in June this year in Singapore, Kim Jong Un announced steps towards denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. However, he has yet to fulfill U.S. demands regarding the dismantling of weapons programs that pose a potential threat to the U.S.