New US blacklist targets North Korea leader's right hand man
(MENAFN- Asia Times) Hwang Pyong-so
Hwang Pyong So vice chairman of the North’s powerful National Defence Commission headed by Kim was one of several officials added to a list of Specially Designated Nationals by the US treasury’s office of Foreign Assets Control.
Hwang who holds the rank of Vice-Marshal in the North Korean army heads its General Political Bureau often seen as the most powerful position in the military after Kim who is the supreme commander.
The US Treasury added Hwang to its list along with 16 individuals who are now subject to a travel ban and asset freeze. The measures are also designed to block U.S. nationals from dealing with them.
Hwang who is in his mid-60s is a confidant of Kim Jong Un and has had an unprecedented rise to the top rungs of North Korea’s leadership in the space of a few years.
He was associated with Kim in the late 2000s when the young man was first named in state media reports announcing his party and military credentials.
He was in the Organisation and Guidance Department that finalises appointments within North Korea’s leading circles and rose to be its second-in-command.
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