EU sanctions against North Korea

The EU has imposed sanctions against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in response to its nuclear- and ballistic missile-related activities and its military support for Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine.

North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction activities

Since 2006, the EU has progressively imposed restrictive measures on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in response to its nuclear weapon and ballistic missile development activities, which represent a serious threat to international peace and security.

Why sanctions?

The DPRK’s programmes related to nuclear weapons, ballistic missiles and other weapons of mass destruction undermine the global non-proliferation and disarmament regime, of which the EU has been a steadfast supporter for decades.

The EU condemns North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile activities and calls on DPRK to comply with its obligations under UN Security Council resolutions by abandoning all its nuclear weapons, other weapons of mass destruction, ballistic missile programmes and existing nuclear programmes in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner, and to cease all related activities.

Restrictive measures aim to put pressure on North Korea to cease its destabilising actions and comply with international obligations.

What are the sanctions?

The EU not only transposes the sanctions imposed by the UN, but also has its own autonomous sanctions regime against North Korea, which complements and reinforces the UN sanctions.

The EU sanctions' regime for the DPRK is currently one of the most restrictive in force.

UN sanctions

The first set of restrictive measures was introduced following UN Security Council Resolution 1718 (2006), adopted shortly after DPRK´s first nuclear test on 9 October 2006. The UN Security Council has repeatedly adopted new measures and extended existing ones since then.

The UN resolutions also call upon North Korea to rejoin the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which it had joined in 1985 but withdrew from in 2003.

The EU implements the UN sanctions through the adoption of EU legislation.

UN Security Council resolutions on North Korea (United Nations)

EU sanctions

In 2016, the Council of the EU adopted additional, autonomous restrictive measures against the DPRK, complementing the UN sanctions, on the grounds that the DPRK’s actions constitute a grave threat to international peace and security in the region and beyond.

EU sanctions against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea include travel bans for individuals, an asset freeze for individuals and entities and a prohibition on making funds or economic resources available to those listed.

Sanctions also cover trade, goods and technology which could aid the DPRK’s weapons programme:

export and import bans (e.g. of arms, precious metals, new helicopters and vessels)
restrictions on financial support for trade
investment restrictions
a ban on financial assistance
compulsory inspections of all cargo going to or coming from the DPRK via land, sea or air
suspension of scientific and technical cooperation
admission and residence restrictions

Individuals and entities sanctioned include:

people who have held leading positions in institutions involved in the development of the illegal weapons programmes
people responsible for supporting or promoting the illicit programmes
individuals and entities that have engaged in sanctions evasion activities that could generate funds for the illegal programmes

North Korea’s military support for Russia

The European Union urges the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and Russia to refrain from any exchanges of military equipment, missile technology or ammunition and to abide by the successive UN Security Council resolutions that clearly prohibit any arms exports or imports involving the DPRK.

The EU condemns any military support for Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine provided by the DPRK.

In that context, EU measures in response to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine include sanctions against:

persons and entities involved in DPRK’s armament supply to Russia
the Defence Minister of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Kang Sun-nam

Russia's war against Ukraine: EU sanctions