Seoul asks U.N. to add N.K. entities to sanctions list

South Korea has asked the U.N. Security Council to add more than 10 North Korean entities to its sanctions list, a senior government official said.

The move comes after the 15-member Security Council on April 16 condemned Pyongyang’s recent rocket launch, expanded the list of North Korean organizations subject to asset freezes and identified more proliferation-sensitive technology to be banned from transfer in and out of the reclusive state.

The Seoul official said the U.S., Japan and EU also have submitted their own sanctions list.

“We basically support the list that the U.S. has submitted ― which is more than 10 North Korean entities. On top of that, we added more than 10 North Korean entities,” the official said on condition of anonymity.

He did not mention which entities were on the list.

Under the presidential statement announced on April 16, members of the Security Council should designate additional North Korean entities and items within 15 days so that the DPRK (North Korea) Sanctions Committee can finalize the list. If the designations are not finalized by May 1, the Security Council will do so within five days.

The South Korean government’s list was based on recommendations by the DPRK Panel of Experts under the DPRK Sanctions Committee.

The DPRK Panel of Experts, established in 2009 under U.N. Security Council Resolution 1874, consists of five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and seven countries including South Korea and Japan. The panel is in charge of checking the implementation of sanctions on the North, collecting sanctions-related data and recommending better implementation.

The U.S. has requested asset freezes on 17 North Korean entities and Japan has also submitted its own list of possible sanctions on the North, the Yonhap news agency said.

There are currently eight North Korean entities with frozen assets under the U.N. Security Council’s resolutions, imposed in the wake of the North’s first and second nuclear tests. The eight include Tanchon Commercial Bank and Hong Kong Electronics.

Analysts say China will play a key role in finalizing the sanctions list of North Korean entities, while Beijing reportedly remains skeptical about expanding the sanctions.

By Kim Yoon-mi (yoonmi@heraldcorp.com)