United Nations:
A confidential report by a UN panel of experts has recommended that 15 new North Korean entities and individuals be sanctioned by the UN Security Council. It will be up to the 15-member council whether or not it follows the recommendations.
Increasingly tough financial sanctions, an arms embargo and other international restrictions on trade with North Korea have significantly delayed expansion of Pyongyang's illicit nuclear arms program, according to the latest annual report of the UN sanctions-monitoring group, seen by Reuters on Tuesday.
The new recommendations for sanctions are:
The Ministry of Atomic Energy Industry - set up by North Korea in April to modernize the country's atomic energy industry, according to North Korean state news agency KCNA. The ministry will put North Korea "on a solid foundation of latest science and technology so as to increase the production of nuclear materials, improve their quality and further develop the independent nuclear energy industry," KCNA reported on April 12.
The Munitions Industry Department of the Central Committee of the Korea Workers Party - manages North Korea's weapons production and arms exports and is already blacklisted by the United States and the European Union.
The State Space Development Bureau - also set up by North Korea in April to create and implement a space development program, according to KCNA. "The DPRK is a full-fledged satellite manufacturer and launcher," KCNA reported. "It is an invariable stand of the DPRK to develop the country into a world-class space power by exercising its legitimate right to space development for peaceful purposes."
Hesong Trading Corporation - a Pyongyang-based entity whose parent company is Korea Mining Development Corporation (KOMID). Hesong was designated by the U.S. Treasury Department in 2005 because of its association with KOMID, which is Pyongyang's main arms dealer and main exporter of goods and equipment related to ballistic missiles and conventional weapons. The European Union designated Hesong in 2011.
Minister of Atomic Energy Industry - who has not yet been nominated according to the UN experts.
Ju Kyu-Chang, director of the Korea Workers Party Munitions Industry Department - Little is known about elderly and silver-haired Ju, 84, but he appears to be a key member of the North Korean team developing nuclear weapons. He was sanctioned by the European Union in 2011 and by the United States in March. Ju is believed to have trained as a metal alloy specialist and studied in Russia. According to the European Union, Ju had oversight of the two tests of North Korea's intermediate-range Taepodong-2 ballistic missiles in 2006 and 2009. Less is known about his connection to the development of nuclear weapons.
Jon Pyong-Ho, former director of the Korea Workers Party Munitions Industry Department - was known to be a confidant of the North's former leader Kim Jong-il and a member of the powerful Defense Commission. A South Korean lawmaker said in 2006 that Jon, 87, and the Guidance Bureau of the Korea Workers Party had control of the country's nuclear programs.
Pak To-Chun, Secretary of the Korea Workers Party Munitions Industry Department - is a full member of the Korean Worker Party's (KWP) Political Bureau, its highest decision-making body, as well the National Defense Commission, according to the U.S. State Department, which blacklisted Pak, 69, in March.
Hong Sung-mu, Deputy Director, Korea Workers Party Munitions Industry Department - is a senior official in the department that manages North Korea's weapons production and arms exports.
Ri Ung-won, chief secretary State Academy of Sciences - was awarded the Order of Kim Jong-il for his involvement in North Korea's long-range rocket launch in December, when the country put a satellite in space for the first time, according to KCNA.
Choe Chun-Sik, director, Second Academy of Natural Sciences - The academy is linked to North Korea's military and was blacklisted by the United Nations in March in response to North Korea's third nuclear test. It is a national-level organization responsible for research and development of North Korea's advanced weapons systems, including missiles and probably nuclear weapons, according to the U.S. State Department.
O Hak-choi - is linked to Hesong Trading Corporation, whose parent company is Pyongyang's main arms dealer and main exporter of goods and equipment related to ballistic missiles and conventional weapons.
Aleksandr Viktorovich Zykov of Kazakhstan and Iurii Lunov and Igor Karev-Popov, both of the Ukraine - All three are recommended for sanctions for their involvement in North Korea-related arms deals. Little is known about them or the deals.
© Thomson Reuters 2013