The following history outlines how North Korea sanctions were established, how they were updated through regulatory changes rather than just Executive Orders, and how the Bush administration formalized the modern system.

---

North Korea Sanctions History: Mechanisms and Evolution

The Core Legal Concept

To understand this history, you only need to know two main laws. The Trading with the Enemy Act (TWEA) is a 1917 wartime law that creates a total wall against trade—it is a blunt instrument. The International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) is a 1977 law that allows the President to fine-tune sanctions during a “national emergency” without declaring war. The story of North Korea sanctions is essentially the story of moving from the blunt instrument (TWEA) to the flexible one (IEEPA).

---

Phase 1: The Total Embargo and Regulatory Updates (1950–1999)

• Establishment (December 17, 1950): The sanctions regime began during the Korean War. President Harry S. Truman declared a national emergency and used the Trading with the Enemy Act (TWEA) to impose a total economic embargo. This froze all North Korean assets in the U.S. and made virtually all financial and commercial transactions illegal.
• The Mechanism of Updates (1990s): Unlike modern sanctions which are often adjusted by issuing new Executive Orders, the updates during this period were primarily done through regulatory amendments. Because the TWEA provided broad authority, the President could direct agencies to loosen restrictions without signing a new Executive Order or asking Congress for permission.
  • 1995 Easing: Following the “Agreed Framework” (where North Korea agreed to freeze plutonium production), the U.S. Treasury Department amended the Foreign Assets Control Regulations. This regulatory change allowed for specific humanitarian donations and telecommunications links but left the broader embargo intact.
  • 1999 “Perry Process” Easing: The most significant change prior to the Bush years occurred under President Bill Clinton. In exchange for a North Korean moratorium on long-range missile testing, Clinton announced a broad easing of sanctions.
    • How it was done: This was not a new Executive Order. Instead, the President waived specific restrictions, and the Departments of Commerce, Treasury, and Transportation issued new federal regulations(specifically amending the Export Administration Regulations).
    • The Effect: These new rules allowed the import and export of most consumer goods (like food or clothing) and opened flight and shipping routes. However, strict bans on military and “dual-use” technology remained firmly in place.

---

Phase 2: The United Nations Steps In (2006)

For over 50 years, sanctions were largely a U.S. project. This changed when North Korea conducted its first nuclear test in October 2006. The U.S. worked with the United Nations Security Council to turn sanctions into a global requirement rather than just American policy.

• UN Resolution 1718 (October 14, 2006): This resolution fundamentally changed the landscape by making sanctions multilateral. It legally required all UN member states to enforce three main bans:
  1. Heavy Weapons: A ban on selling tanks, missiles, and combat aircraft to North Korea.
  2. Asset Freezes: A requirement to freeze funds related to North Korea’s weapons programs.
  3. Luxury Goods: A ban on selling high-end items (like expensive watches, yachts, or liquor) to North Korea. This was designed specifically to target the lifestyle of the North Korean elite without hurting the impoverished general population.

---

Phase 3: The Bush Administration and the Shift to IEEPA (2008)

By 2008, the U.S. was deep in the “Six-Party Talks” to denuclearize the Korean peninsula. As a reward for progress in these talks, the U.S. agreed to remove North Korea from the State Sponsors of Terrorism list and terminate the application of the wartime TWEA.

However, President George W. Bush faced a legal dilemma: How could he fulfill the promise to “lift” the wartime TWEA sanctions without actually letting North Korea off the hook, especially regarding nuclear proliferation?

His solution was a simultaneous “legal swap” executed on June 26, 2008, using Executive Orders rather than just regulatory tweaks:

1. Ending the Old War Status (Proclamation 8271): President Bush signed this proclamation to formally terminate the exercise of TWEA authorities with respect to North Korea. This symbolically ended the “trading with the enemy” status that had existed since 1950.
2. Creating a New Emergency (Executive Order 13466): On the exact same day, he signed this Executive Order. He declared that North Korea’s nuclear material posed an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to the U.S., which allowed him to activate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

The Result:

Executive Order 13466 effectively “grandfathered” the existing restrictions. It continued to block North Korean property and prohibit U.S. citizens from registering ships in North Korea. By doing this, the administration successfully migrated the sanctions from the 1917 wartime law to the modern 1977 regulatory framework. This IEEPA framework became the foundation for the expanded sanctions used by Presidents Obama, Trump, and Biden in the years that followed.

Sources Used

• The White House Archives (George W. Bush): Executive Order 13466 & Proclamation 8271
• United Nations Security Council: Resolution 1718 (2006)
• U.S. Department of the Treasury (Office of Foreign Assets Control): North Korea Sanctions Program Overview
• Congressional Research Service: North Korea: Economic Sanctions (Report R41438)
• Federal Register: Amendments to Export Administration Regulations (2000)