The U.S. Sanctions Russian and Chinese Companies for Money Transfers to North Korea

On Thursday, the U.S. sanctioned a Chinese technology company, its North Korean CEO, and a Russian contractor for 'illegal' money transfers to North Korea, violating U.S. sanctions. According to Reuters, the U.S. Treasury Department stated that the new sanctions target a technology company named 'Yanbian Silverstar,' headquartered in China, its CEO Jung Sung-hwa, who is from North Korea, and a related Russian company called Volasys Silverstar. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin stated, 'The aim of these actions is to prevent the transfer of illegal revenues to North Korea by employees of foreign technology companies who conceal their true identities and typically hide behind shell companies, aliases, and nationals of third countries.' He warned all companies worldwide to 'be vigilant and not inadvertently hire North Korean nationals for new technology projects.' In this context, South Korea's Foreign Ministry also announced that this action aligns with U.S. policies that continue to pressure North Korea for denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula while engaging in dialogue. One manager of the Chinese company Yanbian Silverstar, who refused to disclose his full name, told Reuters that these accusations are 'impossible' and added, 'I have never heard of anyone named Jung Sung-hwa.' A spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry stated that China implements all UN resolutions regarding North Korea but will firmly counter any unilateral sanctions imposed by any country on Chinese companies. He added, 'The Chinese government has previously raised these issues with U.S. representatives and has asked them to stop these erroneous actions.' Reuters reminds that the U.S. continues to pressure North Korea through sanctions to halt its military nuclear programs that threaten the U.S. In a June summit held in Singapore, U.S. and North Korean leaders agreed to cooperate towards denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula. However, no signs have emerged indicating that the North Korean regime is genuinely willing to halt its nuclear programs. Meanwhile, Washington has accused Russia of violating UN resolutions by allowing North Korean nationals to work, but Russia has denied these allegations. Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the UN, accused Moscow on Thursday of trying to conceal violations of UN sanctions by Russians. At the same time, North Korea's state news agency stated that the recent U.S. accusations regarding its involvement in cyberattacks in 2014 and 2017 are 'false propaganda' and that an individual recently sanctioned by the U.S. does not exist. Recently, the U.S. identified a North Korean national named Pak Jin-hyok and his shell company, Chosun Expo, based in China, as guilty of international cyberattacks using the ransomware 'WannaCry' in 2017 and the cyberattack on Sony in 2014. U.S. officials stated that Pak Jin-hyok worked for a hacker group called 'Lazarus,' which aimed to carry out cyberattacks on several American companies and institutions, including defense contractor Lockheed Martin. North Korea's state news agency claimed that there is no individual named Pak Jin-hyok and that the cyberattacks referenced by the U.S. 'have nothing to do with us.'