Russian Banks Sanctioned for Support of DPRK’s Missile Program
Directly after the U.S. President Joe Biden left South Korea, North Korea fired three missiles. These launches occurred directly after Biden stated he would increase sanctions on North Korea. While Japan said the DPRK’s move was clearly “provocative”, Russia stated it was “strictly in accordance with [international law]”. Days after this missile launch, The U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions on two banks, a trading company, and one individual.
The two Russian banks being sanctioned are the Far Eastern Bank and Bank Sputnik. The Far Eastern Bank is one of the largest banks in the region and The Treasury Department has stated it assisted DPRK government organizations and Air Koryo Trading Corporation, the DPRK’s national airline. Air Koryo is represented by Jong Yong Nam, the individual who was sanctioned by The Treasury Department. Air Koryo is a subsidiary organization of the DPRK’s Second Academy of Natural Sciences, which has been assisting the DPRK develop missiles. Jong Yong Nam was sanctioned for assisting the Second Academy, while Air Koryo, the subsidiary he represents, has been sanctioned for providing or attempting to provide support for the DPRK’s Ministry of Rockets Industry. Air Koryo has been used to ship parts for the Ministry of Rockets Industry and also luxury goods, both of which are not allowed. These sanctions further strain North Korea's ability to gather finances and resources to develop and improve their missile programs.
Bank Sputnik has been sanctioned for providing or attempting to provide services for DPRK’s Foreign Trade Bank, FTB. The bank helped the FTB pay Russia to use their satellites and it has an account for a front company that conducted transactions between North Korean and Russian businesses.
The Treasury Department states that the ultimate goal of sanctions is not to punish but to encourage and bring about a change in behavior. However, North Korea has been pursuing a missile program for years, so have sanctions been effective at all? Sanctions have been imposed on North Korea importing oil, however they continue to do so. The DPRK has been able to evade sanctions for luxury goods as well. Most importantly, they have been able to develop their program with the help of groups similar to those mentioned previously in this article. Theorists believe that either sanctions have not been strong enough, or the leadership of North Korea do not care for sanctions. Sanctions have not been able to be strong, as nations such as China and Russia, strong supporters of North Korea, are able to veto any proposed sanctions, which is what they did days ago. As Vladimir Putin said, Kim Jong Un “would rather eat grass than give up their nuclear program”, so it is likely these new sanctions will not have any effect.