S.Korea Sanctions 8 N.Koreans Over Illicit Weapons, Cyber Activities

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Facts

• Following North Korea's test of a solid fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM)-class Hwasong-18 last week, South Korea's Foreign Ministry announced Wednesday it had sanctioned eight North Korean nationals in connection with alleged illegal weapons and cyber activities.¹
• The sanctioned individuals include the head of Pyongyang's Reconnaissance General Bureau, Ri Chang Ho, who Seoul claims worked with hackers to obtain money to fund missile programs. He's in charge of the agency that allegedly oversees the North Korean hacking groups Kimsuky, Lazarus, and Andariel, which have previously been sanctioned by South Korea.²
• Meanwhile, the head of Beijing New Technology, Park Young-han, is accused of facilitating arms trades for Pyongyang's Korea Mining Development Trading Corp., which exports conventional weapons and supplies equipment for ballistic missiles, while a former diplomat in China, Yun Chol, allegedly traded lithium-6, an ingredient used in nuclear weapons banned by the UN.³
• The other five sanctioned individuals are Ryang Su-nyo, Kim Sung-su, Pae Won-chol, Ri Sin-song, and Kim Pyong-chol, who works at Pan Systems Pyongyang — a weapons dealer under the Reconnaissance General Bureau.³
• All eight people, which reportedly brings Seoul's list of sanctioned North Koreans to 83, are now barred from engaging in financial transactions and foreign exchange with South Korean nationals.⁴
• This comes weeks after the US, Japan, and South Korea commenced new joint initiatives to combat alleged North Korean cybercrime, cryptocurrency, and money laundering activities, which are believed to be funding Pyongyang's nuclear missile program.²

Sources: ¹NHK, ²Al Jazeera, ³Yonhap News Agency and ⁴The Straits Times.

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Koreajoongangdaily. North Korea wouldn't be one of the most sanctioned countries on Earth if its leaders simply stopped dealing in illegal weapons trades. As Kim Jong Un's regime continues to illegally provoke the world through its obsession with launching nukes, its government officials, in turn, have resorted to other illegal means to gain the resources necessary for such missiles. Sanctions would be lifted and the world would be safer if the North abided by international law.
• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by RT International. The West doesn't sanction North Korea because it violates international rules but because the North, in its pursuit of military prowess, won't bend to the demands of America's rules. If Pyongyang gets scolded for launching spy satellites and missiles, why don't South Korea or the US face retribution for developing the same technologies and aiming them at the North? This is about who gets to be in charge, not who has weapons.

Predictions