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Obama expands sanctions against North Korea
By ROBERT BURNS
AP National Security Writer
(AP:WASHINGTON) The Obama administration on Monday widened the scope of U.S. financial penalties against North Korea, escalating pressure on the Pyongyang regime to give up its nuclear weapons.
The Treasury Department announced it is freezing the assets of several individuals, companies and organizations allegedly linked to Pyongyang's nuclear program or to management of a vast network of illicit economic activities such as narcotics trafficking and money laundering.
Targeted entities include one variously known as Office 39 or Bureau 39, believed to control organizations inside North Korea and abroad that raise money for senior North Korean leaders. The enigmatic office produces, smuggles and distributes narcotics, the Treasury Department said, and handles the import of luxury goods intended for Kim Jong Il, the top leader.
Treasury said that last year Office 39 was involved in a failed attempt to buy, through China, two Italian-made luxury yachts worth more than $15 million for use by Kim.
In a report earlier this year, the U.S. Army War College's Strategic Studies Institute said Office 39 is involved in the manufacture and distribution of illegal drugs, the counterfeiting of U.S. currency, and the manufacture and distribution of counterfeit cigarettes.
"The crimes organized by Office 39 are committed beyond the borders of North Korea by the regime itself, not solely for the personal enrichment of the leadership, but to prop up its armed forces and to fund its military programs," the institute's report said.
Stuart Levey, the Treasury Department's undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, told reporters that additional U.S. sanctions would be announced in the weeks ahead.
"The destructive course the North Korean government is charting is facilitated by a lifeline" of illicit activities, Levey told reporters. "The North Korean government helps maintain its authority by placating privileged elites with money and perks such as luxury goods like jewelry, luxury cars and yachts."
In a new step designed to curb such behavior, President Barack Obama issued an executive order that penalizes certain North Korean activities said to violate U.N. Security Council resolutions.
In a letter to congressional leaders, Obama said these activities include arms sales, money laundering, the counterfeiting of goods and currency, bulk cash smuggling and drug trafficking.
Obama identified three North Korean entities _ including Office 39 _ and one individual, Lt. Gen. Kim Yong Chol, commander of the intelligence organization involved in conventional arms trade. Any of their assets in the U.S. are now blocked, and Americans are prohibited from doing business with them.
