The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on six individuals and two entities which Washington said are "instrumental" in the transfer of funds boosting North Korea's ability to develop its weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programme.
"These designations target networks that have assisted in the transfer of WMD components, engaged in illicit exports that have enriched the Kim regime, and served as linchpins in the financial networks that funnel illicit funds to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)," US Department of State spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.
The US Treasury said that the sanctions target "agents of designated DPRK banks along with companies that employ DPRK IT workers abroad." The eight facilitators are based in Russia, China, and the United Arab Emirates.
"Funds generated through these actors are ultimately funneled to support the DPRK's weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs," the treasury said, adding that South Korea was jointly designating the eight actors "for their involvement in illicit financing and revenue generation through overseas DPRK information technology (IT) workers."
Any assets in the US belonging to the people affected will be frozen and doing business with them in the US will be prohibited.