The U.S. slapped new sanctions on North Korea’s border control authorities on Friday for their efforts to stop would-be defectors from escaping, part of a series of designations to mark International Human Rights Day.

The unilateral measures, which also target the DPRK’s animation industry, “aim to disrupt” North Korea’s “role in restricting freedom of movement, mistreating asylum seekers, and exploiting laborers to generate revenue for the state,” according to a press statement by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. 

Notably, the new sanctions specifically designate North Korea’s Ministry of State Security Border Guard General Bureau (BGGB). 

“The journey to