S. Korea welcomes US sanctions against arms trade between N. Korea, Russia

South Korea's foreign ministry on August 17 welcomed sanctions announced by the United States this week against three entities involved in illicit arms deals between North Korea and Russia.

The US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Controls (OFAC) on August 16 imposed sanctions on Verus LLC, Defense Engineering LLP and Versor SRO, all of which are owned or led by Slovakian national Ashot Mkrtychev.

The sanctions came amid growing speculation that the two countries may be seeking to bolster their illegal arms trade. Mkrtychev was blacklisted by the OFAC on March 30 for attempting to facilitate arms deals between Russia and North Korea.

"Our government welcomes the recent actions taken by the United States," Lim Soo-suk, spokesperson for the ministry, told a regular press briefing.

He added that Seoul intends to continue efforts to strengthen international cooperation on North Korea, including "strict enforcement of existing UN Security Council sanctions, in collaboration with friendly countries such as the US".

When asked whether Seoul also plans to adopt fresh unilateral sanctions against Pyongyang, Lim said the government plans to "consistently review unilateral sanctions on North Korea" as part of proactive measures to address its illicit nuclear and missile development, as well as weapons trading.

As of July, Seoul had announced 10 unilateral sanctions measures against the North since the launch of the Yoon Suk Yeol administration in May last year.