British American Tobacco to pay U.S. fines over N. Korea sanctions

British American Tobacco has agreed to pay more than $629 million in fines to the United States for violating its sanctions on North Korea, a record high in connection with the measures, the Justice Department said Tuesday.

The agreement was reached after a subsidiary of the major tobacco company admitted to selling products for years to North Korea by circumventing the sanctions, imposed due to Pyongyang’s nuclear program.

British American Tobacco said in a statement that illegal business transactions involving North Korea took place between 2007 and 2017.

The department said the company spun...