North Koreans still running restaurant in Laos to earn cash for regime: UN report

North Korean nationals continue to run a restaurant in Laos to earn income for the Pyongyang regime, a new U.N. report shows, despite international sanctions that ban such activity.

Two DPRK citizens are operating the Japanese-styled Tokyo Sushi & Teppanyaki restaurant in Vientiane, according to a new report by the U.N. Panel of Experts.

The restaurant’s alleged managers, Yu Song Hyok and Yun Song Il, also aided North Korean IT workers by providing workspaces and accommodation and negotiated with foreign brokers to convert stolen virtual funds, a member state told the panel.

Image

Image alternative text

livus, 6 months ago

From the article:

Seoul sanctioned the two for their suspected involvement in illicit operations in May.

NK News previously reported that the restaurant is located in a luxurious riverside hotel and was still open as of earlier this year, employing North Korean staff and selling DPRK products in likely violation of international sanctions.

U.N. Security Council Resolution 2397 banned North Koreans from working abroad as a means of financially supporting the Pyongyang regime’s weapons programs and required member states to repatriate all DPRK nationals by Dec. 2019.

In response to Panel inquiries, the Laotian government said that two out of the four restaurants in the country known to have employed DPRK citizens “transferred their ownership and operation to Lao citizens and were re-opened under the same restaurant names, continuing to serve Korean food,” according to the report.

reply

report

activity

copy /kbin url

copy original url

open original url

Loading...

Add comment