US names more Korean officials as linked to WMD

The US designated here late Monday four senior officials as linked to North Korea's weapons of mass destruction programs, in addition to the Foreign Trade Bank (FTB), North Korea's primary foreign exchange bank. The Department of State announced in a statement that it designated three individuals directly tied to North Korea's proliferation activities "to further impede North Korea's weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and ballistic missile programs." The individuals were identified as Pak To-Chun, the head of US and European Union-designated Munitions Industry Department, Chu Kyu-Chang, who is a KWP Political Bureau (alternate) member and directs the Munitions Industry Department, and O Kuk-Ryol, who is a Vice Chairman of the North Korean National Defense Commission. The Department of Treasury also announced in a separate statement that it designated the Foreign Trade Bank (FTB) and that it is also designating Paek Se-Bong, the chairman of North Korea's Second Economic Committee (SEC) as linked to untoward activities. The State Department indicated that "today's designations of three senior members of the North Korean government follow actions taken March 7 by the US Government against China-based representatives of the Korea Mining Development Corporation (KOMID) and Tanchon Commercial Bank (TCB)." "North Korea will continue to face isolation if it refuses to take concrete steps to comply with its international obligations and address the concerns of the international community over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs," it stressed. The statement noted that "the United States continues to encourage North Korea to choose the path of peace and remains prepared to engage constructively with North Korea if it changes its course." "However, North Korea must demonstrate its seriousness of purpose and commitment to authentic and credible negotiations by taking meaningful steps to show it will abide by its denuclearization commitments and respect international law," it added. For its part, the Treasury indicated that today's designations of FTB and a senior member of the North Korean government also follow actions taken March 7 by the Treasury Department against China-based representatives of the Korea Mining Development Corporation (KOMID) and Tanchon Commercial Bank (TCB). Under-Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David Cohen said in this regard that North Korea "uses FTB to facilitate transactions on behalf of actors linked to its proliferation network, which is under increasing pressure from recent international sanctions." He affirmed that the United States "will take strong measures to protect its financial system from this type of illicit activity, and we urge financial institutions around the world to be particularly wary of the risks of doing business with FTB.