Targeting Illicit DPRK Weapons Sales to Burma and a DPRK Financial Facilitator

Today, the United States sanctioned six targets for their roles in generating revenue for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), including by procuring materiel from DPRK for Burma’s military regime, which has indiscriminately attacked civilian infrastructure since its 2021 coup.  This action aims to disrupt illicit networks that facilitate these attacks and simultaneously cutting off funding for the DPRK unlawful weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and ballistic missile programs. The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated one entity and five individuals for their roles in facilitating arms trafficking and generating revenue for the DPRK regime.  

The designations target the Burma-based Royal Shune Lei Company Limited and its key personnel.  Those personnel include Kyaw Thu Myo Myint and Tin Myo Aung, who facilitated weapons deals for the Burmese Air Force with Kim Yong Ju, the Beijing-based deputy representative of the Korea Mining Development Trading Corporation (KOMID).  Also known as the 221 General Bureau, KOMID serves as the DPRK’s primary arms dealer and exporter of ballistic missile-related equipment.  The designations also sanction Aung Ko Ko Oo who is a director of Royal Shune Lei.  Furthermore, Nam Chol Ung, a DPRK national who has laundered foreign currency earnings through an extensive network of businesses across Southeast Asia, is being designated for being a representative of the DPRK’s Reconnaissance General Bureau (RGB).

These actions underscore the United States’ commitment to disrupting networks that support the DPRK’s destabilizing activities and to promoting accountability for those who enable Burma’s military regime.  We welcome collaboration with our international partners, including through the G7+ DPRK Sanctions Contact Group, to ensure coordinated sanctions efforts against these entities and individuals.

The Department of the Treasury actions were taken pursuant to Executive Orders 13687, 13551, and 14014.  For more information on today’s action, see Treasury’s Press Releases.