A military officer and three enterprises based out of Myanmar have been added to the Specially Designated National List (SDN) for engaging in weapons trade with North Korea.
The list of sanctioned individuals and companies is compiled by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) under the United States Department of the Treasury, and does not target specific governments.
It is believed that representatives from Excellence Mineral Manufacturing Co., Ltd and Soe Min Htaeik Co. recently met with North Korean authorities to facilitate the import of military supplies for use in North Korea’s state-run weapons program.
A third company, Asia Metal Company Limited, is thought to have constructed factory facilities for use by the Myanmar Directorate of Defense Industries (DDI). It is estimated that around thirty North Korean nationals are currently employed on the site.
Lt. Col. Kyaw Nyunt Oo of the DDI was the only individual added to the list.
Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David S. Cohen announced on the 17th that, “The revenues from these continuing military sales directly support North Korea’s illicit activities. We will continue to target this activity in Burma, and the region, as we work with our international partners to shut down North Korea’s dangerous and destabilizing weapons proliferation.”
