The United States on Thursday announced sanctions against five entities and one individual based in Russia and a Russian-occupied Georgian region for their alleged involvement in a sanctions evasion scheme to support Pyongyang and Moscow.

The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control accused them of having enabled and supported ongoing efforts to establish illicit payment mechanisms between North Korea and Russia, as Washington has been striving to disrupt and stop any efforts to fund Pyongyang’s weapons programs and support Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Source: Yonhap News Agency