ISN/CTR Grant: Countering North Korea’s Missile and Nuclear Program

Application Submission Process: Applicants should submit project proposals electronically using Grants.gov. Thorough instructions on the Grants.gov application process are available at http://www.grants.gov. For questions relating to Grants.gov, please call the Grants.gov Contact Center at 1-800-518-4726.

Award amounts: ISN/CTR prefers projects that cost less than $500,000 though awards may involve multiple projects that cumulatively exceed $500,000. CTR will prioritize proposals that efficiently meet NOFO and programmatic goals at the lowest technically acceptable cost.

ISN/CTR sponsors foreign assistance activities funded by the Nonproliferation, Anti-terrorism, Demining and Related Programs (NADR) account, and focuses on mitigating proliferation risk from state and non-state actors in North-East Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa.

The United States government seeks to use all available tools to exert pressure on the DPRK to curtail its proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and related delivery systems and induce the DPRK to denuclearize. Specifically, the DPRK uses external procurement and trade networks to acquire nuclear and missile materials and technology and to finance its WMD program. While several United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCRs) obligate states to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons, and their means of delivery, and establish appropriate domestic controls over related materials, some countries lack the capacity and resources to fully comply with the UNSCRs. ISN/CTR will contribute to United States government efforts to pressure the DPRK by building capacity in partner countries to counter-DPRK proliferation activities and enforce the relevant UNSCRs.

The countries to be included in this engagement are global in scope, including Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America, but focus on states that have trade relations with the DPRK or may be a hub for shipping materials to or from the DPRK. For example, CTR activities are likely to focus on:
• Southeast and East Asian countries where DPRK entities are in operation or through which WMD material and financing flow. Such countries may notionally include Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
• Countries that are exploited by the DPRK though the use of false flags, ship registries, and banking arrangements. Such countries may include Comoros, Fiji, Marshall Islands, Panama, Palau, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, and Saudi Arabia.
• Governments with bilateral relations with the DPRK and which engage in commercial or arms related trade with the DPRK. Such countries may notionally include UAE, Egypt, Ethiopia, Namibia, Tanzania, Turkey, Uganda, and Vietnam.
• Additional states that may be exploited by the DPRK, such as Algeria, Bangladesh, Lebanon, and Ukraine.

Please note that ISN/CTR does not support activities related to the training, engagement, or redirection of DPRK nationals or DPRK government or non-government agencies.

Program Objectives
By the end of the award’s period of performance, the recipient will have successfully developed and implemented a project to advance one or more of the following CTR objectives:
• Support government efforts to develop legal frameworks, operational frameworks, and regulatory practices to enforce asset freezes and other sanctions associated with proliferation activities;
• Provide technical and policy expertise to assist various organs of government to enforce DPRK proliferation-related sanctions and address proliferation finance consistent with the relevant guidance from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF);
• Identification and disruption of DPRK shipping activities including:
o Illicit DPRK shipping activities using “flags of convenience” and false ship registries;
o Activities that finance DPRK WMD proliferation, such as conventional arms sales, as well as the trade in luxury and counterfeit goods;
o Services that finance DPRK proliferation including DPRK laborers, trade in coal and other minerals, and commercial fishing; and
o Other associated activities that finance DPRK WMD proliferation.
• Enhance partner government’s ability to enforce UNSCR prohibitions on the travel of DPRK individuals for the purposes of sanctions evasion;
• Train government and non-government stakeholders, including private companies, industry associations, and others, to counter activities that finance the DPRK’s nuclear and missile programs, including disrupting both licit and illicit commercial activities that fund the DPRK’s WMD programs;
• Train government personnel, law enforcement, regulators, and others to ensure that industry conducts stringent end-user checks to prevent unwitting commercial activity that supports DPRK nuclear and missile proliferation; and
• Train national police bureaus, regulators, and others to recognize and undermine DPRK attempts to avert sanctions, including identifying, investigating, and arresting DPRK financial activity that finances nuclear and missile programs or facilitates the trafficking of WMD information and technology.