OFAC Issues New North Korea Sanctions Regulations

The U.S. Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control ("OFAC") published new North Korea Sanctions Regulations. The new regulations implement three executive orders and two recently enacted laws.

The new regulations repeal and replace the North Korea Sanctions Regulations that were issued in 2010 and updated in 2011, and include a number of rules that had previously been included only in executive orders and on the OFAC website.

The new regulations implement Executive Orders 13687 (signed January 2, 2015), 13722 (signed March 15, 2016), and 13810 (signed September 20, 2017), which progressively tightened earlier measures to block North Korean government or ruling party property and interests in property in the United States. The executive orders also placed progressively stricter limitations on transactions involving U.S. persons and the North Korean economy.

In addition, the new regulations implement the North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act ("NKSPEA") of 2016 and the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act ("CAATSA") of 2017. Both acts require the President to block North Korean government property within the control of a U.S. person. CAATSA also requires the President to block defense-related property or services within the control of a U.S. person if the property or service is known to be imported, exported or re-exported to or from North Korea.

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