UN approves new N.Korea sanctions over smuggling
March 31, 2018
The Security Council on Friday unanimously agreed on a new package of sanction designations as part of a global crackdown on North Korea's smuggling activities at sea.
Acting on a request from the United States, the council agreed to blacklist 27 ships for transporting banned commodities and helping Pyongyang flout UN sanctions.
A further 21 shipping and trading companies were slapped with an asset freeze — some of them for illegally smuggling loads of oil and coal. A Taiwanese businessman was also hit with a global travel ban and assets freeze for coordinating "North Korean coal exports with a North Korean broker operating in a third country."
Read more: Is North Korea's red carpet a real sign of change or merely a ruse?
'Largest-ever' package
US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said it was the largest-ever package of sanctions designations against the North.
"The approval of this historic sanctions package is a clear sign that the international community is united in our efforts to keep up maximum pressure on the North Korean regime," she said in a statement.
Read more: Opinion: A big stage for the 'little rocket man'
Several rounds of UN sanctions have been imposed on North Korea since 2006 in an attempt to cut off funding for the rogue state's missile tests and nuclear weapons program.
Those sanctions have mainly targeted the export of coal, iron, lead, textiles and seafood, as well as imports of oil and refined petroleum products. But despite these measures, Pyongyang managed to earn around $200 million (€162 million) in revenue last year from banned exports, according to a recent report.
The Security Council decision comes days after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing — his first known trip overseas since taking power in 2012. Kim is also due to meet with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in April, followed by a meeting with US President Donald Trump in May.
nm/bw (Reuters, AFP, AP)