The U.S. State Department has placed Korean corporations on a sanctions list on suspicion of violating laws related to preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and missile technology.
On the 27th (local time), the U.S. State Department announced in the Federal Register sanctions against six foreign individuals and entities, including Korea's JS Research Co., Ltd., for violations of the Iran, North Korea, and Syria Nonproliferation Act. The sanctions took effect on Jan. 22 and will remain in place for the next two years.
Under the sanctions, JS Research is barred from procuring goods and services with U.S. government agencies, and participation in U.S. government support programs is blocked. Transactions of items on the U.S. Munitions List (USML) are restricted, issuance of new export licenses under the Export Control Reform Act and other laws is suspended, and the validity of existing licenses is also halted.
The State Department did not disclose specific counterpart countries or detailed information on the transactions, but said it determined that the sanctioned parties transacted items on multilateral control lists or technology that could contribute to the development of WMD and missile systems with Iran, North Korea, and Syria.
It is the first time in about 18 years, since the 2008 Yoorin Tech case, that Korean corporations have been targeted by U.S. government sanctions for violating the Iran, North Korea, and Syria Nonproliferation Act, a move considered highly unusual.
JS Research, founded in 2004 in Gongju, South Chungcheong Province, is a manufacturer of laboratory, scientific, and medical equipment and is known to have produced a range of products needed in science and technology and industrial research and development.
In addition to JS Research, the sanctions list includes Choe Chol-min, a North Korean national; the Second Academy of Natural Sciences, Foreign Affairs Bureau (SANS FAB) of North Korea; China's Futech Co., Ltd.; Lebanon's XFT Rance; and the United Arab Emirates' International Biotechnology Service.
Among them, Choe Chol-min and the Second Academy of Natural Sciences, Foreign Affairs Bureau, are already subject to U.S. government sanctions against North Korea. In June 2023, Choe was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) as a procurement agent supporting North Korea's missile program and is accused of procuring items used in the production of North Korean ballistic missiles while residing in Beijing.
The Second Academy of Natural Sciences, Foreign Affairs Bureau, likewise received Iran, North Korea, and Syria Nonproliferation Act (INKSNA) sanctions from the State Department in Mar. 2022 and has been identified as a procurement body supporting North Korea's defense research and design programs and the Ministry of Munitions Industry.
Christopher T. Yeo, the U.S. State Department's assistant secretary for arms control and nonproliferation, signed the sanctions measure and said, "These sanctions will be implemented by the responsible U.S. government departments and agencies."
The Iran, North Korea, and Syria Nonproliferation Act designates as sanctionable the transfer or acquisition of items on multilateral control lists or items that could contribute to the development of WMD and missile systems with Iran since Jan. 1, 1999, with Syria since Jan. 1, 2005, and with North Korea since Jan. 1, 2006.