CBP begins seizing assets of foreign companies for alleged use of North Korea labor

U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Tuesday announced that it had begun seizing merchandise from a host of foreign companies over their alleged ties to North Korea.

"U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) began detaining merchandise produced or manufactured by Jingde Trading Ltd., Rixin Foods. Ltd., and Zhejiang Sunrise Garment Group Co. Ltd. at all U.S. ports of entry on Dec. 5, 2022," read a press release from the federal agency. "This enforcement action is the result of a CBP investigation indicating that these companies use North Korean labor in their supply chains in violation of the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA)."

CBP further stated that it would continue to detain all merchandise from these companies entering any U.S. port of entry unless "clear and convincing evidence is provided" that the products were not produced using forced labor. Moreover, the agency gave each entity 30 days to provide such evidence.

The Pyongyang regime has long been at odds with Washington. Under the Kim family, the "Hermit Kingdom" has maintained a communist autocracy and pursued the development of a nuclear arsenal. Moreover, the country is a stalwart ally of both Russia and China. Former President Donald Trump attempted to negotiate a nuclear compromise with the regime, but broke off the signing of the deal when the North Koreans insisted on changes he deemed unacceptable.

More recently, the regime has come under scrutiny for its alleged arms sales to the Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary group spearheading Moscow's assault on Ukraine. In recent days, Pyongyang has further conducted a number of missile launches, heightening tensions with South Korea, a U.S. ally.