US sanctions North Korea for use of chemical weapons

The US Department of State has issued sanctions against North Korea (‘DPRK’) for the use of chemical weapons in violation of international law.

The determination in the Federal Register on 5 March stated that Pyongyang had acted contrary to ss306(a), 307(a) and 307(d) of the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act 1991 and imposed the following sanctions:

• No foreign assistance, except for urgent humanitarian assistance and food or agricultural commodities;
• Termination of sales of any defence articles, defence services or design and construction services and licence for the export to DPRK of any item on the US Munitions List;
• Termination of all foreign military financing;
• Denial of any credit, credit guarantees or other financial assistance by any department or agency of the US government.
• Prohibition on export to DPRK of sensitive goods or technology.

The latest sanctions follow the ‘toughest ever’ sanctions package against DPRK by the US Treasury in February, aimed at disrupting the flow of shipping, trading companies and vessels to and from DPRK.

For details of the determination in the Federal Register see:
https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2018-03-05/pdf/2018-04320.pdf