On Thursday 21 September, a European source told EUROPE that ambassadors from the Political and Security Committee had reached an agreement on a raft of new autonomous measures against North Korea due to the country’s ballistic and nuclear tests.
According to several sources, the aim is to get these measures adopted during the next Foreign Affairs Council on 16 October. The working groups will now examine these measures.
Several sources told EUROPE that the sanctions are expected to focus on expanding the ban on EU investment in all sectors, as well as the embargo on EU oil exports. The most recent UN resolution introduced quotas on oil and oil products. A number of different sources explained that an extension of the ban on luxury products is also being examined. The addition of further names and entities is also possible but according to a national source, the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, would not be affected.
One source explained that the Political and Security Committee also agreed to include the question of funds sent by North Koreans to their country at the forthcoming discussions in the working groups, and “to tackle the question of North Korean workers in the EU”. The EU has already limited the amount of funds that can be sent by North Korean workers to their country to €15,000 and the UN has banned the granting of any new visas to North Korean workers going abroad. According to a number of different sources, the question of workers is reportedly “one of the most complicated” because of the “particular sensitivity of certain member states”. There are between 300 and 400 North Korean workers in the EU.
The European source said that the measures will be implemented as part of the Foreign Affairs Council conclusions on North Korea adopted on 17 July last (see EUROPE 11831) and that they underpin resolutions 2371 and 2375 of the United Nations Security Council adopted in August and September.
This European source added that the Political and Security Committee has also highlighted the need for active lobbying in support of a robust implementation of all the appropriate UN Security Council resolutions by all United Nations member states. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)