Kim Jong Un's Missile Tests Draw New Sanctions From US, Japan And South Korea

The U.S. and its Asian allies, South Korea and Japan, imposed sanctions on Kim Jong Un's officials connected to North Korea's weapons programs after the isolated nation's slew of latest missile tests last month.

What Happened: The U.S. Treasury Department, on Thursday, sanctioned Jon Il Ho, Yu Jin and Kim Su Gil – the individuals whom the European Union had already designated for sanctions in April. 

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A Treasury statement said Jon and Yu played major roles in the development of weapons of mass destruction, as they served as vice director and director at North Korea’s Munitions Industry Department.

South Korean foreign ministry also announced sanctions on seven other individuals, which included a Singaporean and a Taiwanese national, along with eight entities. The individuals sanctioned by Seoul were already sanctioned by the U.S. between January 2018 and October 2022. 

Meanwhile, Tokyo also designated three companies and an individual for new sanctions. The Japanese foreign ministry said the sanctions included the Lazarus Group, which is suspected of carrying out cyberattacks.

This came after North Korean allies, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin, blocked recent efforts by the U.S. to impose more United Nations sanctions on Pyongyang. China and Russia had emphasized that the sanctions should rather be eased to jumpstart talks and avoid humanitarian damage. 

The latest sanctions were prompted by North Korea's recent ICBM test – which was a part of a record-breaking blitz of more than 60 missile launches this year. The U.S. and its Asian allies have repeatedly raised concerns that Kim is about to resume nuclear weapons’ testing and may conduct its seventh test anytime soon. 

The U.S. sanctions freeze any America-based assets of the individuals and bar dealings with them.

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