UN experts: North Korea enhances nukes and illicit trade

U.N. experts say rth Korea has increased imports and exports of banned and restricted goods such as coal and petroleum products as it continues to enhance its illicit nuclear and ballistic missile programs in violation of sanctions. experts identified new methods that country is using to eve U.N. sanctions, including transferring 2.8 million metric tons of coal from rth Korean-flagged vessels to Chinese barges that n heed to Chinese ports. This would be a violation of an August 2017 Security Council resolution that bans all exports of coal, rth Korea’s largest source of foreign exchange.

experts said figures came from an unidentified member state, ding in a footte: “A couple of experts are of view that this information can be furr corroborated.”

Chinese U.N. Mission strongly rejected any claim that China violated sanctions, saying earlier this week that country “has always faithfully and seriously fulfilled its international obligations and sustained huge losses and tremendous pressure in process.”

mission expressed “indignation and concern” at leaking of experts' report, which ís t due to be me public until next month.

summary and parts of 67-p report, seen Friday by Associated Press, said Democratic People’s Republic of Korea or DPRK — country’s official name — continued construction and maintenance of nuclear facilities, though it didn’t carry out any nuclear tests or tests of intercontinental ballistic missiles last year. It did conduct 13 or launches of at least 25 missiles, including new s, experts said.

panel stressed link between rth Korea's nuclear program and its illegal exports, especially of coal.

“ DPRK’s continued violation of commodity export bans t only flouts Security Council resolutions but serves to fund a revenue stream that has historically contributed to country’s prohibited nuclear and ballistic missile programs,” experts said.

panel said rth Korea also continues to violate U.N. resolutions through its illicit import of refined petroleum products through ship-to-ship transfers and direct deliveries by foreign-flagged vessels. se vessels sail directly into Nampo, main rth Korean port for petroleum deliveries, it said.

“In some months between June and October 2019, estimated deliveries by foreign-flagged tankers exceeded deliveries me by DPRK tankers,” experts said.

panel said it received a report from United States containing imry, data and calculations of petroleum imports from January through Oct. 31, 2019.

According to experts, under three different scenarios based on how full tankers were, U.S. said deliveries would have amounted to between three and eight times more than 500,000- barrel annual cap on refined petroleum products set by Security Council in December 2017.

“ Russian Federation and China requested more conclusive evidence to make a judgment,” experts said.

experts said Russia reported exporting 30,886 tons of refined petroleum products to rth Korea during first 11 months of 2019 and China reported exporting 22,739 tons during year. panel said it calculated that total of Russian and Chinese export amounts would equal 408,576 barrels of refined petroleum products — below annual limit.

As for coal, panel said that according to unidentified member state rth Korea “exported 3.7 million metric tons of coal between January 2019 and August 2019, with an estimated value of $370 million.”

Discussing new sanctions evasion methods to export coal, panel first cited use of “self-propelled barges” that are over 100 meters (330 feet) in length and can undertake ocean voys.

It also cited use of larger foreign-flagged bulk carriers to deliver coal from rth Korean-flagged vessels, as opposed to transferring coal to smaller lighter vessels for delivery. It said a bulk carrier destined for scrap is suspected of being acquired by rth Korea to illicitly export coal.

panel said rth Korea also continues to use previous evasion tactics such as “indirect routing, detours, loitering and use of false documentation when transporting DPRK origin commodities,” to make it appear banned commodities were loed in ports or than in rth Korea.

rth Korea also continues to import or banned items such as luxury vehicles, alcohol and robotic machinery, and it continues to send information techlogy workers abro, including to Nepal, experts said.

panel said it also investigated several vertisements and exhibitions in China and Hong Kong of artwork of rth Korea’s Mansudae Art School, which is on sanctions blacklist.

(Picture Credit: representative im/ pixabay)