MSMT Participating States and EU Issue Joint Statement on Sanctions Targeting North Korean Overseas Labor, Cyber Activity and North Korea-Russia Cooperation

Washington, United States

Participating states of the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team (MSMT) and the European Union (EU) issued a joint statement on the 28th (U.S. Eastern time) confirming sanctions aimed at actors involved in North Korea's dispatch of overseas workers, malicious cyber activity and unlawful North Korea-Russia cooperation. The statement was signed by Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, South Korea, the United Kingdom, the United States and the EU.

Participating States and EU Announced Together the North Korea Sanctions Carried Out Throughout October

According to the full text of the statement released by the U.S. State Department's Office of the Spokesperson, the EU, Australian and U.S. governments imposed sanctions over the month of October and on that day targeting those involved in North Korea's use of overseas workers, malicious cyber activity and unlawful North Korea-Russia cooperation. The statement said the measures are an effort to block North Korea's ability to support its unlawful weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and ballistic missile development and to counter unlawful North Korea-Russia military cooperation.

The participating states and the EU reaffirmed their commitment to the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of North Korea. They urged North Korea to abandon its unlawful WMD and ballistic missile programs and said they would act against North Korea's attempts to violate and evade UN sanctions.

The European External Action Service (EEAS) posted on its official X account a quotation of the denuclearization wording of the joint statement.

The participating states and the EU said they continue to support implementation of all UN Security Council resolutions on North Korea. They urged all UN member states, in particular the permanent members of the Security Council, to fully implement those resolutions.

The Designations Were Based on MSMT Reports

The participating states and the EU said the latest designations were based on detailed reporting published by the MSMT. According to the statement, the MSMT monitors and reports on North Korea's non-compliance with Security Council resolutions in the absence of the panel of experts of the UN Security Council 1718 Committee, whose mandate extension was blocked in 2024 by a Russian veto.

The statement said the MSMT's first and second reports covered illicit North Korea-Russia military cooperation and cyber-enabled information technology (IT) worker fraud. The statement describes both activities as serving as funding sources for North Korea's unlawful weapons programs. In September 2026, the MSMT issued a third report documenting how North Korea dispatches overseas workers to raise funds for its WMD and ballistic missile programs.

The participating states and the EU said the MSMT will continue to monitor, expose and report North Korea's violations and attempted evasion of UN sanctions.

According to Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, like-minded countries including Japan launched the MSMT in October of that year, after the mandate of the Panel of Experts of the UN Security Council 1718 Sanctions Committee ended in April 2024. The MSMT has published reports on “illicit military cooperation, including arms transfers between North Korea and Russia” in May 2025, “North Korea's cyber and IT worker activities” in October 2025 and “North Korea's overseas labor” in September 2026.

The Third Report Covered How North Korea Sends Workers Abroad

According to the joint statement issued by the MSMT participating states on September 16, when the third report was published, the report found that North Korea is systematically evading UN sanctions through overseas labor, which UN Security Council Resolutions 2375 and 2397 prohibit. The report drew together information provided by participating states and open-source information.

The MSMT participating states said North Korea is estimated to continue dispatching roughly 35,600 to 101,280 workers abroad. The participating states said nearly all of them are in China and Russia. A key-facts document estimated the number of North Korean workers dispatched to China at 20,000 to 70,000, and noted that 10,000 to 20,000 were temporarily repatriated between 2023 and 2025 but about 10,000 new arrivals came in between January 2025 and January 2026.

The participating states said at least 17 countries are suspected of continuing to take in North Korean workers even though the 2019 repatriation deadline set by Resolution 2397 has passed. The report said North Korean authorities confiscate almost all of the wages earned by North Korean workers abroad.

According to the key-facts document the participating states released together, the number of North Korean workers in Russia was estimated at 15,000 to 30,000 as of the end of 2025. The document said North Korean workers are manufacturing military drones for Russia, including at drone factories on Russian territory. It also said the Russian government created a student visa scheme that disguises North Korean workers as students. The document also cited an estimate that, depending on the industry, monthly pay for North Korean workers in Russia can be up to five times higher than in China.

According to the document, North Korean authorities confiscate 80 to 90 percent of workers' wages. In some cases the amount confiscated exceeds actual earnings, leaving workers in debt to the authorities. The document said North Korean authorities tightly control workers' movement and contact with outsiders to prevent defection, and that workers who defect put family members left behind in North Korea at risk of retaliation.

In that earlier statement, the MSMT participating states urged the UN Security Council to reestablish the panel of experts at the same size and with the same structure as before it was dismantled. The participating states said all UN member states should hold responsible parties and facilitators accountable, including through domestic measures.

EU Put Those Involved in North Korea-Russia Cooperation on Its Sanctions List

On the 12th, the EU Council added three individuals and four entities to its autonomous sanctions list related to North Korea. The Council said they are responsible for supporting and facilitating activities contributing to North Korea's nuclear weapons, ballistic missile and other WMD-related programs and for violating or evading UN sanctions.

According to the Council, the new designations target activities related to the expanding military and economic cooperation between North Korea and Russia, including the dispatch of North Korean workers to Russia, commercial and industrial cooperation, and “arms-for-oil” deals. The Council said these activities violate Security Council prohibitions that Russia, as a permanent member of the Council, voted for. In the decision published in the Official Journal, the Council said it is deeply concerned about the deepening of North Korea-Russia cooperation, including the employment of North Korean workers in Russia, the establishment of commercial joint ventures and North Korea-Russia “arms-for-oil” deals. The decision also noted that in its conclusions of June 18, 2026, the European Council condemned the deployment of North Korean troops in Russia's war against Ukraine and North Korea's continuing military support for Russia.

The list includes Ri Song Jin, a researcher at North Korea's National Aerospace Technology Administration and an official of the Missile General Bureau. The Council said he was sent to Russia as a technician and supported Russia's use of North Korean missiles.

The Council also sanctioned the Russian real estate developer Samolet Group and its chief executive, Anna Akinshina. The Council said the company violated UN sanctions by employing North Korean workers on construction projects in Vladivostok. Vladimir Sokolov, founder of the Russian holding company Black Horse, was also put on the list for allegedly pursuing and facilitating commercial and industrial cooperation in which North Korea participates, including a North Korea-Russia industrial investment project in Russia's Primorsky Krai. According to the decision, Sokolov publicly announced in April 2026 the establishment, through Black Horse, of a North Korea-Russia industrial investment project in Primorsky Krai.

The other two entities are Golden Autumn Agroholding, a Black Horse subsidiary, and Paekyangsan Shipping, which operates the North Korea-flagged vessel Paek Yang San 1 that carried Russian refined petroleum to North Korea. The Council said this shipment violated Security Council Resolution 2397.

The designated parties have their assets frozen, and making funds or economic resources available to them, directly or indirectly, is prohibited. The designated individuals are also banned from entering the EU. The Council said the decision brings the number of targets of the EU's autonomous sanctions to 80 individuals and 25 entities. Separately, the EU implements all UN Security Council sanctions resolutions related to North Korea's illicit programs by transposing them into EU law.

On the 12th, the EU Council posted on its official X account that it had adopted the sanctions.

Australia Sanctioned North Korean IT Worker Organizations

On the 23rd, the Australian government imposed financial sanctions and travel bans on two individuals and two entities involved in financing North Korea's unlawful weapons programs. Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said they have helped North Korea use disguised IT workers to raise funds for the regime's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.

According to Wong, these workers obtain remote jobs by posing as nationals of other countries. Wong said this violates UN Security Council resolutions that prohibit North Korea's export of labor.

According to a notice by Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the designated parties are the individuals YU Pu Ung and SIM Hyon Sop and the entities Korea Mangyondae Computer Technology Company and Chinyong Information Technology Cooperation Company. Using or dealing with the designated parties' assets without ministerial permission, and making assets available to them, is a criminal offense. The designated individuals are barred from entering and staying in Australia.

Wong said the sanctions follow the MSMT's findings. She said the MSMT continues to expose the global network North Korea uses to evade Security Council sanctions and the serious cyber security risks that network poses to the businesses it victimizes. She said Australia acted in cooperation with international partners, including the EU, and urged North Korea to fully implement Security Council resolutions and take concrete steps toward complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization.

The United States Also Made Designations Tied to IT Worker Organizations on the Same Day

On the 28th, the day the joint statement was issued, the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated 10 individuals and one entity involved in IT worker fraud run by the North Korean government as Specially Designated Nationals (SDNs). Treasury said Australia and the EU also joined this month in designating individuals and entities that support North Korea's revenue generation and military activities. Treasury explained that it is working closely with international partners, including MSMT participating states, to continue such actions.

Japan Said It Will Cooperate Closely With the International Community

Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a press release on the 28th announcing the joint statement. The ministry said the Japanese government will work closely with the international community, including MSMT participating states and the EU, to pursue full implementation of the relevant UN Security Council resolutions and will continue to demand the complete abandonment of North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs presented the contents of the joint statement on its official English-language X account.

The diplomatic authorities of the United States, Japan and South Korea held a director-general-level telephone consultation on the 30th after North Korea launched a ballistic missile on the 29th. According to Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Takashi Ariyoshi, Deputy Director-General of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau at Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Baek Yong-jin, Director-General for Korean Peninsula Policy at South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and David Wilezol, Deputy Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of State, reaffirmed that North Korea's ballistic missile launch violates the relevant Security Council resolutions. The three urged North Korea to stop provocations that threaten peace and security in the region and the international community and reaffirmed close coordination.

According to the U.S. State Department, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the foreign ministers of Japan and South Korea also met in Atlanta the same day and reaffirmed their commitment to the full implementation of Security Council resolutions, including the ban on helping North Korea generate revenue for its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. The three ministers highly commended the MSMT's work in exposing North Korea's violations and evasion of Security Council resolutions.

Sources (KST)

• U.S. Department of State, Office of the Spokesperson, “Joint Statement on Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) Sanctions” (October 28, 2026): https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesman/2026/10/joint-statement-on-democratic-peoples-republic-of-korea-dprk-sanctions/
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, “Joint Statement on Sanctions against North Korea” (October 28, 2026): https://www.mofa.go.jp/press/release/pressite_000001_02798.html
• MSMT, “Joint Statement of the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team (MSMT) on the Report Covering the DPRK's Overseas Labour Program” (September 16, 2026): https://msmt.info/Publications/detail/Press/4231
• UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), same statement and Quick Facts (September 16, 2026): https://www.gov.uk/government/news/joint-statement-of-the-multilateral-sanctions-monitoring-team-msmt-on-the-report-covering-the-dprks-overseas-labour-program
• Council of the EU Decision (CFSP) 2026/2283 (October 12, 2026, EU Official Journal): https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec/2026/2283/oj
• Council of the EU, “DPRK: Council adds three individuals and four entities to sanctions lists over nuclear, missile programmes and Russia ties” (October 12, 2026): https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2026/10/12/dprk-council-adds-three-individuals-and-four-entities-to-sanctions-lists-over-nuclear-missile-programmes-and-russia-ties/
• Australian Foreign Minister, “Sanctions targeting North Korean fraudulent IT worker networks and cybercrime” (October 23, 2026): https://www.foreignminister.gov.au/minister/penny-wong/media-release/sanctions-targeting-north-korean-fraudulent-it-worker-networks-and-cybercrime
• Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, “Two persons and two entities listed under the Autonomous Sanctions Regulations 2011 – Democratic People’s Republic of Korea” (October 23, 2026): https://www.dfat.gov.au/news/two-persons-and-two-entities-listed-under-autonomous-sanctions-regulations-2011-democratic-peoples-republic-korea
• U.S. Department of the Treasury, “Treasury Sanctions Facilitators of DPRK IT Worker Fraud Targeting U.S. Businesses” (October 28, 2026): https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0669
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, “Japan-U.S.-ROK Foreign Ministries’ Official Telephone Meeting on North Korea” (October 30, 2026): https://www.mofa.go.jp/press/release/pressite_000001_02804.html
• U.S. Department of State, “United States-Japan-Republic of Korea (ROK) Trilateral Foreign Ministers’ Meeting” (October 30, 2026): https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesman/2026/10/united-states-japan-republic-of-korea-rok-trilateral-foreign-ministers-meeting-2/
• European External Action Service official X (@eu_eeas): https://x.com/eu_eeas/status/2115506966248431839
• Council of the EU official X (@EUCouncil): https://x.com/EUCouncil/status/2109645264034120015
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan English-language official X (@MofaJapan_en): https://x.com/MofaJapan_en/status/2115614724549460477