On September 19, the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions against an individual and five companies involved in illegal financial transactions between Russia and North Korea.
This was reported in the press service of the Ministry of Finance.
The illegal financial network between Moscow and Pyongyang, which was exposed by the United States, worked with two state-sanctioned banks of North Korea — the Foreign Trade Bank and the Kwansong Banking Corporation. It is through these institutions that North Korea receives foreign currency to finance state programs to create weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles.
For transactions with these banks, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation used MRB Bank, located in South Ossetia, occupied by Russia. He played the role of a front company for the Russian CSMRBank — its vice president Dmitry Nikulin opened accounts there for North Korean banks and "coordinated with North Korean representatives the transfers of millions of dollars and rubles in banknotes."
MRB Bank used part of North Korean accounts to pay for fuel exports from Russia to the DPRK. The "Russian Financial Corporation" is also involved in financial schemes — together with the Foreign Trade Bank of the DPRK, they established a shell company in Moscow through which Pyongyang received funds. The Russian Timer Bank also participated in this scheme, which transferred millions of dollars to the Moscow company Stroytreyd LLC for the Foreign Trade Bank.
All property of the above individuals and legal entities, which is in the possession or under the control of US citizens, has been blocked. All organizations, which in one way or another were 50% or more owned by one or more under-sanctioned persons, were also blocked.
Cooperation between Russia and the DPRK
On June 18, the Russian leader visited North Korea and met with its leader Kim Jong Un. They signed an agreement on strategic cooperation. The treaty obliges each party to provide immediate military assistance to the other in the event of armed aggression against one of them.
From the beginning, the DPRK supported Russiaʼs full-scale invasion of Ukraine and provided weapons to the Russian Federation. Thanks to the supply of weapons to Russia, the economy of North Korea even began to recover. The Washington Post wrote that North Korea could transfer approximately 1.6 million artillery ammunition to Russia from August 2023 to January 2024.
In early July, North Korea sent an "elite military training delegation" to Russia. According to American and South Korean officials, Moscow could send aid to Pyongyang in response to the arms deliveries. It is not known exactly what kind of support we are talking about. However, presumably, in exchange for weapons, Russia sends food to North Korea.