On 27 May 2016, Council Regulation (EU) 2016/841, amending Regulation (EC) No 329/2007 concerning restrictive measures against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, was published on the Official Journal of the European Union. This regulation prohibits both providing access to ports in the territory of the Union to any vessel that is owned, operated or crewed by North Korea, and any aircraft operated by North Korean carriers or originating from North Korea to take off from, land in or overfly the territory of the Union. Furthermore cargoes within or transiting through the territory of the European Union shall be liable for inspection for the purposes of ensuring that they do not contain items prohibited by UN Security Council Resolutions.

Other restrictive measures set up by the regulation are, from one side, the prohibition to import, purchase or transfer petroleum products, gold and other materials from North Korea, and from the other side, the ban to accept or approve investment in any commercial activity in the territory of the Union where such investment is made by North Korean persons or entities. Also investment by EU nationals or entities in any legal person, entity or body engaged in North Korea’s nuclear-related, ballistic-missile-related or other weapons-of-mass-destruction-related activities or programs, or in activities in the sectors of mining, refining and chemical industries, shall be prohibited. Finally, transfers of funds to and from North Korea shall be prohibited, unless such transactions are either officially authorized, or fall within the list provided for by the regulation (e.g. transactions regarding foodstuffs, healthcare or medical equipment or for agricultural or humanitarian purposes, transactions regarding personal remittances, etc.).

These restrictive measures add up to the ones already taken in response to the grave threat to international peace and security posed by the nuclear test carried out by North Korea on 6 January 2016 and the ballistic missile technology launch on 7 February 2016.