U.S. imposes sanctions on two North Korean entities over labour export

The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions on two North Korean entities that it said are involved in sending North Koreans to work abroad in violation of United Nations sanctions.

The U.S. Treasury Department blacklisted the Namgang Trading Corp, or NTC, and the China-based North Korean lodging facility Beijing Sukbakso, even as Washington tries to revive stalled talks to persuade North Korea to end its nuclear weapons program.

North Korea has been flouting a U.N. Security Council resolution that mandated that all countries repatriate North Korean laborers by the end of last year to stop them from earning hard currency for Kim Jong Un’s government, the Treasury Department said.

The department did not specify to which countries North Korea has continued to send workers. But it said that in 2018, NTC had workers in Russia, Nigeria and numerous unidentified Middle Eastern countries.

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