National Sanctions Regime on DPRK: Republic of Korea

1. Implementation of UNSC sanctions resolutions concerning the DPRK 

South Korea, has no separate statute (act, enforcement decree and rule) related to sanctions against North Korea, such as the US North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act.  

The purpose of the regulatory Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation Act, is to promote exchange and cooperation, not to sanction against North Korea. And the North Korean Human Rights Act does not have sanction regulations.  

Therefore, when the South Korean Government adopts UNSC sanctions or intends to enforce independent sanctions, it usually revises the public notices of existing related statues. Although the public notice is merely an administrative rule, not a statute, it is interpreted as legally binding in certain cases, such as those related to sanctions against North Korea. However, maritime sanctions are created by revising related statutes. 

The main statues and public notices reflecting the UNSC resolutions against North Korea are as follows. 

1.1 Trade sanctions 

Public Notice on Trade of Strategic Items (hereafter Strategic Items Notice) and Public Notice on the Special Measures for Restrictions on Trade for the Maintenance of International Peace and Security (hereafter Peace Notice), both of which appear as administrative rules in the Foreign Trade Act.

The Strategic Items Notice was enacted to regulate the export of military and dual-use items related to weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and conventional weapons (CW) in accordance with the Multilateral Export Control Regimes (MECR) and is not limited to UNSC resolutions. 

Meanwhile, the Peace Notice was enacted to restrict the import and export of strategic items and prohibited items under the UNSC resolutions to certain countries for international peace. It is not limited to North Korea, but makes North Korea one of the main targets. As of 2022, countries listed in the Peace Notice include Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, North Korea, Republic of South Sudan, Republic of Sudan, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, and members of the Kimberley Process.  

The Peace Notice prohibits North Korea, from importing/exporting Control Items related to Weapons of Mass Destruction and Conventional Weapons (hereafter WMD/CW Control Items), and Watch list Items tailored to North Korea (hereafter Watch List), as well as strategic items or items prohibited under the UNSC resolutions. 

The Strategic Items Notice and the Peace Notice are amended whenever reasons such as the decision of the MECR, UNSC resolutions, or other independent sanctions by South Korean Government occur. The import/export control of related items is supervised by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and is additionally controlled by the Ministry of Unification, when it is related to North Korea. The control exercised by both Ministries is basically same in content.  

1.2 Financial sanctions 

Payment and Receipt Guidelines for the fulfilment of the Obligation to maintain International Peace and Security (hereafter, Payment and Receipt Guidelines), which is the public notice of Foreign Exchange Transactions Act.  

This notice is the basis for financial sanctions on those subjects of financial sanctions designated by the UNSC, the United States, the European Union, and the South Korean Government. Currently, individuals and organizations from several countries, including Iran, Iraq and North Korea, are designated as targets for sanctions. Financial sanctions are supervised by the Ministry of Economy and Finance.  

1.3 Maritime sanctions 

Act on the Arrival, Department, etc. of Ships (hereafter Arrival and Departure Act), and its enforcement decree and rules.  

This statute is amended to reflect the UNSC resolutions and South Korea’s independent sanctions against North Korea. It was enacted in 2015 by separately collecting provisions related to ship entry and departure that had been disseminated in the Public Order in Open Ports Act and the Harbor Act.  

The relevant enforcement decree for the Public Order in Open Ports Act was revised in September 2011 to sanction North Korea following the sinking of the naval vessel Cheonan (March 2010), and in June 2017, the enforcement decree for the Arrival and Departure Act was revised to implement UNSC resolutions. 

Maritime sanctions are supervised by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and, in particular, sanctions against North Korea are additionally controlled by the Ministry of Unification. 

2. National sanctions against DPRK

2.1 DPRK nuclear programme 

In South Korea, sanctions related to the North Korean nuclear programme are treated as part of those related to conventional weapons and WMD. As pointed out earlier, sanction items are reflected in the Strategic Items Notice and the Peace Notice.  

Currently, the Strategic Items Notice defines around 1,400 items as strategic items (military and dual-use) and controls exports to North Korea. The list of control items can be found in Korean and English in Appendix 2 (dual-use items) and Appendix 3 (military use items) of the Notice. The number of control items by each MECR is as follows. 

- Nuclear suppliers group (NSG): 241 nuclear weapons-only and dual-use items 

- Australian Group (AG): 227 biochemical weapons and related dual-use items 

- Missile Technology Control System (MTCR): 186 missiles and related dual-use items 

- Wassenaar Arrangement (WA): 755 conventional weapons and dual-use items. 

Moreover, separate or overlapping with the Strategic Items Notice, the Peace Notice completely prohibits the import and export of the following strategic items to North Korea. If the items are included in both the Strategic Items Notice and the Peace Notice, import and export to North Korea are completely prohibited according to the Peace Notice. 

- Prohibited items listed in WMD/CW Control Items: hundreds of items related to WMD and CW prohibited by UNSC resolution 1874, 2094, 2270, 2371, and 2375. The complete list can be found in the Korean and English versions of the Notice in Appendix 5. In addition, it can also be found in Korean and English on pages 62-70 (related to WMD) and pages 78-154 (related to CW) of the Reference Book on North Korea Sanctions published by the Ministry of Unification and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. 

* Nuclear and missile related: 70 items 

* Biochemical weapon related: 10 items 

* Conventional weapon related: Hundreds of items 

- Prohibited items listed in a Watch List: These are 89 nuclear-related items, 41 missile-related items, and 60 submarine-related items. The list can be found in Korean and English versions in Appendix 6 of the Notice. It can also be found on pages 71 to 77 of the Reference Book on North Korea Sanctions.

2.2 Human rights violations 

South Korea has no separate sanctioning regulations on North Korean human rights issues. The same is true of the North Korean Human Rights Act.

2.3 Other sanctions 

a) Non-strategic items (luxury and general items) sanctioned by UNSC resolutions 

Article 49 (Paragraphs 2 and 3) of the Peace Notice announces non-strategic items prohibited by the UNSC resolutions. A more detailed list can be found on pages 321 to 325 of the Reference Book on North Korea Sanctions. 

- Luxury items: about 40  

- General items: the same ones as those under the UNSC resolutions.

b) Maritime sanctions 

South Korea completely disallows North Korean vessels from operating in South Korean waters (May 24 measures, 2010) and prohibits foreign vessels and flag of convenience vessels of North Korea from entering South Korean waters within one year of departure of North Korea (March 8 measures and December 2 measures, 2016). This is reflected in the Arrival and Departure Act and the relevant enforcement decree/rules.  

c) Financial sanctions and travel restrictions 

The South Korean Government has designated 89 organisations and 109 individuals related to sanctions against North Korea and is taking measures such as freezing assets, banning financial transactions, and prohibiting entry to South Korea. Many of them overlap with UNSC sanctions and US sanctions, but some individuals/organisations are designated only by South Korea’s sanctions. The list of sanctioned individuals/organisations by country, including those in South Korea, can be found on pages 277-320 of the Reference Book of North Korea Sanctions. 

d) Others 

The South Korean Government suspended tourism to Mt. Kumgang in the wake of the shooting of civilians in 2008, and then began to impose independent sanctions following the sinking of the Cheonan and North Korea’s nuclear and missile tests. In addition to the sanctions discussed above, South Korea imposes independent sanctions: 

- on commercial trade with North Korea: Suspension of Mt. Kumgang tourism, closure of Kaesong Industrial Complex, ban on import and export of all goods for general trade and consignment processing, ban on new investment and expansion of investment in ongoing projects. 

- on humanitarian assistance: Withholding aid to North Korea in principle (however, pure humanitarian aid to vulnerable groups such as infants and toddlers is allowed). 

- on travel: South Korean nationals are not allowed to visit North Korea, WMD-related foreigners living in South Korea are prohibited from re-entry into South Korea, and third country nationals subject to South Korean financial sanctions are prohibited from entering South Korea. 

- on facilities abroad: Recommendations for Korean citizens and overseas Koreans to refrain from using North Korean commercial facilities abroad. 

3. Relevant national laws and regulations 

Foreign Trade Act (1.8.2019) and its enforcement decree 

Korean (Official)