The U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday imposed sanctions on individuals and companies accused of illegally generating revenue for the North Korean government.

The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Chilsong Trading Corporation, saying the airline was used by North Korea to generate foreign currency and gather intelligence. Korea Paekho Trading Corporation, accused of generating funds for the North Korean government through art and architecture projects in the Middle East and Africa since the 1980s, is also sanctioned.

OFAC also sanctioned two individuals, Hwang Gil-soo and Park Hwa-san, for helping the North Korean government generate revenue, the Treasury Department said in a statement.

The individuals set up Congo Aconde SARL in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to generate income from architectural and statue-building projects in partnership with the local government, the Treasury said.

State media said last week that North Korea had tested four strategic cruise missiles in an exercise designed to demonstrate its ability to launch a nuclear counterattack against hostile forces.

Brian Nelson, the Treasury Department’s top sanctions official, said Wednesday that North Korea’s “illegal weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs threaten international security and regional stability.

” A global illicit network that generates income from its activities.”

U.S. Secretary of State Blinken joined his South Korean and Japanese counterparts last month in urging countries to tighten sanctions on North Korea in response to its latest ballistic missile launch.

North Korea continues to develop and mass-produce new missiles despite U.N. Security Council resolutions banning North Korea’s missile activities.

U.S. and South Korean officials recently conducted sandbox games focused on the possibility that North Korea could use a nuclear weapon.

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Tags：North Korea, U.S. Treasury Department