South Korea’s foreign ministry announced sanctions on seven other individuals, including a Singaporean and a Taiwanese, and eight entities.
The latest sanctions follow a Nov. 18 ICBM test by North Korea, part of a record-breaking spate of more than 60 missile launches this year.
There are also concerns that the country may be about to resume nuclear weapons testing, which has been suspended since 2017.
Decades of U.S.-led sanctions have failed to halt North Korea’s increasingly sophisticated missile and nuclear weapon programs.
“Targeting senior officials inside North Korea responsible for WMD and missile activities and working with South Korea and Japan are important, but it is an inadequate and symbolic response to 60+ missile tests, including 8 ICBM tests,” said Anthony Ruggiero, who headed North Korea sanctions efforts under former President Donald Trump.