Vietnam expels North Korea shipping chief

Oct. 20 (UPI) -- Vietnam has expelled the representative of North Korea's Wonyang Shipping Corp. and denied visas to more than 20 North Korean IT workers.

In a move that reflects Hanoi's displeasure with Pyongyang, Vietnam continues to turn away North Koreans who could be earning foreign currency for the Kim Jong Un regime, Yonhap reported Friday.

Lee Hyuk, South Korea's ambassador to Vietnam, said in Hanoi that Kim Yong Su, the North Korea head of the Vietnam branch of Wonyang, controlled by Ocean Maritime Management, left Vietnam in July.

The North Korean official's departure comes after the Trump administration blacklisted one North Korean entity and 11 North Korean individuals.

Kim Yong Su was one of the blacklisted North Korean officials.

OMM, Wonyang's parent company, exports iron ore and coal and finances North Korea's intelligence agency.

OMM is also the target of United Nations Security Council sanctions.

The South Korean diplomat also confirmed the representative of North Korea's Danchung Industrial Bank, Kim Dong Ho, was expelled from the country in July.

The Vietnamese government may have previously claimed Kim left voluntarily, when he was in fact deported on suspicions of arms trafficking.

Other members of ASEAN are stepping up sanctions.

Myanmar, which may have purchased weapons from North Korea at one point, recently expelled a North Korean diplomat, South Korean television network KBS reported Friday.

In its sanctions report to the U.N. Security Council, Myanmar said it took necessary action to remove second secretary Kim Chol Nam of the North Korean embassy in Yangon.

Kim Chol Nam is known as a member of blacklisted Korea Mining Development Trading Corp., Myanmar stated.