Seoul sanctions Pyongyang's army politburo director after ICBM launch

Director of the General Political Bureau of the North's Korean People's Army Jong Kyong-thaek [NEWS1]

Seoul levied additional sanctions on individuals and organizations linked with Pyongyang's weapons programs, including the director of the General Political Bureau of the North Korean army Jong Kyong-thaek and Park Kwang-ho, former propaganda director of the regime.

"The government decided to levy unilateral sanctions in response to North Korea's launch of a long-range ballistic missile on July 12 for posing a threat to peace and security of the Korean Peninsula and the international community," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday.

A total of four individuals and three organizations tied with the North's weapons program were sanctioned Friday, it said.

They included operators of a North Korean construction company in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Hwang Kil-su and Pak Hwa-song. The two established Congo Aconde SARL in the DRC to rake in finances to fund the North's weapons program, said the ministry.

The three organizations sanctioned were Congo Aconde SARL, Chilsong Trading Corporation and Korea Paekho Trading Corporation.

This was the 10th time the South Korean government levied independent sanctions on North Korea.

Any Korean entity, regardless of their location of business, wishing to engage with the sanctioned individuals or organizations for financial transactions will need the approval of the Bank of Korea or the Financial Services Commission.

BY ESTHER CHUNG [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]