EU sanctions Russian and North Korean officials over arms-for-oil trade and military cooperation
The European Union has imposed sanctions on three individuals and four companies linked to North Korea's nuclear and missile programmes, targeting Russian businesses accused of employing North Korean workers and facilitating prohibited economic cooperation.
LUXEMBOURG, Oct. 12, 2026 — The Council of the European Union announced seven new designations under its autonomous North Korea sanctions regime, expanding restrictions on individuals and businesses allegedly supporting Pyongyang's weapons programmes and violating United Nations sanctions. The measures focus on growing military and economic cooperation between Russia and North Korea, including the deployment of North Korean personnel, industrial investment projects and shipments of Russian petroleum products to Pyongyang.
Among those sanctioned is Ri Song Jin, a researcher at North Korea's National Aerospace Technology Administration and an official of its Missile General Bureau. According to the Council, Ri was deployed to Russia as a technician supporting Russian forces' use of North Korean missiles. The EU also designated Russian property developer Samolet Group and its chief executive, Anna Nikolaevna Akinshina, over the company's employment of North Korean construction workers in Vladivostok, in violation of UN restrictions requiring the repatriation of North Korean workers abroad.
The designations additionally target Vladimir Aleksandrovich Sokolov, founder and president of Russian holding company Black Horse, for facilitating commercial and industrial cooperation with North Korea, including an investment project in Russia's Primorsky Krai region. Black Horse subsidiary Golden Autumn Agroholding was also sanctioned. Meanwhile, North Korean shipping company Paekyangsan Shipping Co Ltd was listed for operating the North Korean-flagged vessel Paek Yang San 1, which the Council said transported refined petroleum products from Russia to North Korea in violation of UN Security Council Resolution 2397.
All seven newly designated parties are subject to EU asset freezes and prohibitions on making funds or economic resources available to them, while the three individuals also face EU travel bans. The additions bring the EU's autonomous North Korea sanctions list to 80 individuals and 25 entities, alongside the separate UN sanctions measures incorporated into EU law.
The latest measures underscore Brussels' increasing focus on the economic and military relationship between Moscow and Pyongyang, particularly North Korea's support for Russia's war in Ukraine. The Council said the cooperation, including military deployments, prohibited employment arrangements, joint ventures and arms-for-oil transactions, violates UN Security Council restrictions that Russia itself previously approved.
Regulatory Actions
Structured data extracted from official sources and validated by sanctions experts