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Choe Ryong-hae, vice chairman of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) and director of the WPK Organization and Guidance Department, cheers on North Korean judo athletes during the 2016 Rio Olympics on Aug. 6. (photo pool)
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Observers speculate as to how sanctions will affect N. Korea-US deadlock
The US government has placed sanctions on three central figures in the North Korean regime because of their responsibility for human rights abuses. One of the three figures is Choe Ryong-hae, vice chairman of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) and director of the WPK Organization and Guidance Department. The next question is how this decision will effect negotiations between North Korea and the US, which are currently deadlocked. On Dec. 10, the US Treasury Department announced that it was imposing sanctions on Choe, along with Minister of State Security Jong Kyong-thaek and Pak Kwang-ho, director of the WPK’s Propaganda and Agitation Department, in connection with the North Korean regime’s continuing severe human rights abuses and censorship. The US Treasury Department identified Choe as the “number two” official in the North Korean regime and described the WPK Organization and Guidance Department, which is under his leadership, as a powerful body of censorship. The Treasury also accused Jong and Pak of orchestrating censorship and human rights abuses. “These sanctions demonstrate the United States’ ongoing support for freedom of expression, and opposition to endemic censorship and human rights abuses,” said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. The Treasury emphasized these sanctions’ connection with North Korea’s harsh treatment of Otto Warmbier, a US university student detained in North Korea who died after being returned to the US in 2016. The sanctions were timed to coincide with a report detailing North Korea’s human rights abuses and censorship that the US State Department submitted to Congress on Dec. 10, which is International Human Rights Day. According to the North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act, which took effect in Feb. 2016, the US Secretary of State is required to identify the figures responsible for human rights abuses and censorship in North Korea and their specific actions and to brief Congress accordingly every 180 days. This report was submitted one year and two months after the previous third report. In addition to the three figures being sanctioned, the State Department also identified specialized military units known as Group 109, Group 114 and Group 118, which have been charged with preventing the use of foreign media and other content, as being organizations that oppress human rights. This is the fourth time that the US has sanctioned North Korean figures because of human rights. The first instance was in July 2016, when the US sanctioned 15 North Korean individuals, including Kim Jong-un, and eight organizations. Then in January 2017, the US added Kim’s sister Kim Yo-jong, WPK first vice director, to the list, followed by Labor Minister Jong Yong-su that October. These sanctions freeze any assets that these figures may have in the US and prevent them from doing business with the US or US corporations. But since there is no direct exchange between North Korea and the US, these sanctions are more symbolic than directly effective. These sanctions were announced while North Korea-US dialogue is at an impasse. The apparent intention is to underline the persistence of sanctions until action is taken toward denuclearization while also using the human rights issue to force North Korea to return to the table for talks. Another interpretation is that this announcement aims to update sanctions on the heads of censoring organizations that were already under sanctions because of pressure from Congress and other groups who focus on the North Korean human rights issue. Choe’s position as director of the WPK Organization and Guidance Department was confirmed this year, and the sanctions may also reflect recent appointments to the top positions in North Korea’s Ministry of State Security and the WPK Propaganda and Agitation Department. ”Trump and his administration don’t seem to be on the same page” The next question is how North Korea will respond. Frank Jannuzi, president of the Mansfield Foundation, told the Hankyoreh that these sanctions could provoke North Korea. “President Trump and his administration don’t seem to be on the same page. This could be an obstacle to the North Korea-US summit,” Jannuzi said. On Dec. 11, North Korea’s state-run newspaper Rodong Sinmun ran a privately signed op-ed about the US’ recent decision to extend a funding ban on North Korea through 2019 in accordance with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act. “This is a heinous act of hostility that runs contrary to the spirit of the North Korea-US summit in Singapore,” the op-ed said. “The US needs to quickly get out of the rut of hostility and confrontation.” Considering that the op-ed was composed on Dec. 10, this seems unlikely to have been a direct response to the US’ imposition of additional sanctions, which was announced shortly aftewards. By Hwang Joon-bum, Washington correspondent, and Lee Je-hun, senior staff writer Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]
