What to Know About North Korea and Economic Sanctions

Economic sanctions can take the form of embargoes, travel bans, asset freezes, capital restraints and trade restrictions. They have been a core part of the “maximum pressure” the U.S. and its allies have been applying to force concessions on North Korea’s nuclear-weapons program. North Korea is expected to require sanctions relief in return for the surrender of its nuclear arsenal. At his historic June 12 summit with North Korea leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore, U.S. President Donald Trump said sanctions will be maintained until North Korea’s nuclear program is “no longer a problem.”

United Nations sanctions started more than a decade ago with a focus on exports of military supplies and luxury goods and grew to include bans on exports of coal, iron ore, seafood and textiles. The UN also has asset freezes and travel bans on designated individuals and entities and mandated that all North Koreans working abroad must return home by late 2019. After President George W. Bush declared North Korea a threat in 2008, the U.S. imposed sanctions of its own. Trump, in 2017, imposed a full trade and financial embargo that includes penalties for non-U.S. banks, companies and people that do business with North Korea. South Korea’s initial sanctions in 2010 banned most trade, most cultural exchanges and North Korean ships from South Korean waters. Japan and Australia also have sanctions on North Korea.