As the world grapples with the impacts of the Ukraine-Russia war, the United States has issued sanctions on two Russian individuals and three Russian companies for shipping arms and ammunition between Russia and N.Korea, including ballistic missiles used in Ukraine.
The announcement came this Thursday, at a time when the Russian President Putin was on his visit to China.
The treasury and State department of US said that Russia and North Korea had strengthened military cooperation over the past year, with Pyongyang providing ballistic missiles and munitions to Russia and seeking military assistance in return. Matthew Miller, the US spokesperson described the strengthening Russia-N.Korea relationship as “a wide-ranging threat to global security and the international non-proliferation regime,” asking others in the international community to join the effort to counter it.
The list named Rafael Anatolyevich Gazaryan and Aleksey Budnev, and the firms as Trans Kapital Limited Liability Company, the Rafort Limited Liability Company and Tekhnologiya, OOO.
Earlier this month, Russia’s veto on a resolution to renew the UN body established to monitor N.Korea’s compliance with international sanctions led to the disbandment of the UN body, liberating N.Korea from Western clutches.
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UK join hands
Following the United States’ lead, the United Kingdom also declared sanctions the next day, against three companies and one individual over what it called the “illicit ‘arms-for-oil’ trade” between Russia and North Korea.
“The sanctions highlight the joint malign efforts of Russia and the DPRK (North Korea) to circumvent (UN) sanctions on petroleum products, which help facilitate the DPRK’s unlawful military programmes,” the UK government said in a statement.
British Foreign secretary, David Cameron, expressing solidarity with its Western ally asserted that Britain was acting “alongside international partners” and would continue to hold Moscow and Pyongyang accountable for such arms transfer.
“Putin is straining every sinew to sustain his illegal war in Ukraine, even resorting to illicit ‘arms-for-oil’ trade deals with the DPRK, blatantly violating UN sanctions that Russia itself voted for, and vetoing UN Monitoring panels that report on their activity,” he said.
These new sanctions were against Paekyangsan Shipping, which transfers petroleum products between North Korea and Russia, Toplivo Bunkering Co (TBK) for allowing vessels involved in such transfers to bunker in Russia’s Vostochny Port, Russian cargo services provider Vostochnaya Stevedoring Co and TBK Director Aleksey Vorotnikov. Asset freeze, transport sanctions and travel bans are imposed on these entities.
