Tag: sanctions

Is anyone surprised that the Moon administration appears to have turned a blind eye to the illegal importing of North Korean coal into South Korea?:

South Korea’s spy chief told a parliamentary panel Tuesday his agency reported the import of North Korean coal to the presidential national security office last October, lawmakers said.

A monthslong probe by the customs office showed that three South Korean firms imported North Korean coal from Russia in apparent violation of U.N. sanctions resolutions. There is a controversy over whether the government turned a blind eye to the North Korean coal shipment amid a peace mood with Pyongyang.

Suh Hoon, the chief of the National Intelligence Service (NIS), told lawmakers at a closed-door meeting that the NIS reported the coal shipment to the Office of National Security under Cheong Wa Dae last October.

Suh was quoted as saying that he communicated the fact to the office though there was no direct report to President Moon Jae-in.

The customs office’s recent announcement has spurred controversy over whether South Korea is fully implementing U.N. sanctions on North Korea.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link.

Moon admin: Setting up liaison ofc at Gaesong is "sovereignty issue" "why must (we) get US permission on every little thing?" "A thick water stream is flowing haughtily; sanctions controversy is not a big obstacle." Sanctions is but "a small problem."https://t.co/hFmVf1NQJ7

— Tara O (@DrTaraO) August 23, 2018

The US Treasury Department is continuing to go after companies that violate sanctions against North Korea:

The United States imposed sanctions on a Russian port service agency and Chinese firms for aiding North Korean ships and selling alcohol and tobacco to Pyongyang in breach of U.S. sanctions.

The U.S. Treasury said in a statement on Wednesday that China-based Dalian Sun Moon Star International Logistics Trading Co. Ltd and its Singapore-based affiliate SINSMS Pte. Ltd had netted more than $1 billion a year by exporting alcohol and cigarette products to North Korea.

The department also sanctioned Russian-based Profinet Pte Ltd and its director general, Vasili Aleksandrovich Kolchanov, for providing port services on at least six occasions to North Korean-flagged ships.

Kolchanov was personally involved in North Korea-related deals and interacted directly with North Korean representatives in Russia, the department said.

“The tactics that these entities based in China, Singapore, and Russia are using to attempt to evade sanctions are prohibited under U.S. law, and all facets of the shipping industry have a responsibility to abide by them or expose themselves to serious risks,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in the statement.  [Reuters]

You can read more at the link.

I think the Moon administration may be trying to create a precedent of sanctions exemptions at the Kaesong Industrial Complex with this request.  If this gets approved down the road they could request even more small exemptions and pretty soon they have a working industrial park again:

South Korea’s foreign ministry said Wednesday it was talking with the United States to possibly obtain sanctions relief for North Korea, though the ministry didn’t specify when the relief would happen.

“The ministry is in discussions with the United States to get the go-ahead for partial sanctions relief, which will be helpful for South Korea to push forward the country’s business projects, most of which are non-commercial, with North Korea. But the South has no plans to violate U.N. sanctions now being imposed on the North,” said a ministry official.

The official added the U.N. Security Council’s actions would support and conform to the efforts of diplomatic talks toward denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula.

At the Singapore summit in June between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Trump said economic sanctions will be maintained until Pyongyang’s nuclear program is “no longer a problem.”

The remarks came after Seoul began supplying power to the liaison office located inside the joint industrial park in Gaeseong, North Korea. Seoul’s unification ministry said South Korea seeks to run the office within this month in consultation with the U.S. and the allies.

It also said the power supply will be limited to the joint liaison office, not the entire Gaeseong Industrial Complex (GIC), and that its measure should not be seen as a sign of easing the U.S.-led international sanctions on Pyongyang.

The measure however, raised suspicions whether South Korea will be walking a tightrope between abiding by the sanctions and seeking exemptions from the sanctions to help the impoverished Pyongyang regime.  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link, but the Trump administration should tell them to have North Korea provide the power themselves.

#breaking Warning from North Korea: “high-level officials within the U.S. administration are making baseless allegations against us and…intensifying international sanctions… there is no guarantee that the hard-won atmosphere of stability on the Korean Peninsula will continue” pic.twitter.com/sEhPkJOPRD

— Will Ripley (@willripleyCNN) August 10, 2018

The intelligence the US had must have been indisputable because the ROK government is now admitting that they did in fact allow in shipments of North Korean coal:

South Korea received 6.6 billion won ($5.86 million) worth of North Korean coal and pig iron, of which the country of origin was fabricated, the nation’s customs agency said, Friday.

Cheong Wa Dae said there is no conflict between South Korea and the U.S. regarding the issue as the two countries are coordinating closely with mutual trust.

According to the Korea Customs Service (KCS), three South Korean importers brought in 35,038 tons of North Korean coal and pig iron from April through October last year.

They turned out to have used a Russian port as a transit hub, fabricating the materials as Russian coal. They brokered exports of North Korean goods to other countries via Russia, and got North Korean coal as a commission. (……..)

There is concern the confirmation may negatively affect South Korea’s alliance with the United States as well as its relations with North Korea.

“Though the United States has been moving to improve ties with North Korea, engaging in talks, it has been continuing pressure,” said Yang Moo-jin, professor at the University of North Korean Studies.

Washington has been firm that sanctions should be maintained until North Korea takes concrete steps for denuclearization.

“As it turned out that South Korea, which is a U.S. ally, violated the sanctions, there will be negative effects,” he said.  [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link, but remember these are the violations that have been provable, I have to wonder what else has been going on in violation of UN sanctions?

I would argue that the fact the US has to voice confidence in South Korea’s willingness to enforce sanctions on North Korea shows there is some doubt and thus they need reminding:

The United States on Wednesday voiced confidence in South Korea’s implementation of sanctions against North Korea amid reports a shipment of North Korean coal docked at a South Korean port.

U.S. broadcaster VOA reported that a Belize-flagged ship docked at South Korea’s southeastern port city of Pohang over the weekend after being spotted at the Russian port of Nakhodka with black material believed to be North Korean coal.

U.N. Security Council Resolution 2371 bans North Korean exports of coal and other mineral resources that could generate revenue for the regime’s development of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. U.N. member states are also required to stop and inspect vessels suspected of engaging in illicit activities with the North.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link.

It looks like the cover up of companies shipping North Korean coal into South Korea in violations of UN sanctions is in full effect:

A South Korean coal importing company is being investigated by the customs authority on suspicions of importing what is believed to be North Korean coal and disguising it as being from Russia, government officials have disclosed. Reportedly, this is only one of nine suspicious cases being investigated by the authorities.Misrepresenting the origin of coal counts as illegitimate importing under the Customs Act and the forgery of private documents under the criminal code.

And since importing North Korean coal is banned by UN Security Council sanctions against North Korea (Resolution No. 2371), this could also represent a violation of sanctions, if the coal does turn out to be from North Korea.On Aug. 6, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Korea Customs Service (KCS) met reporters at the Foreign Ministry office in Seoul’s Jongno District and explained the current status of their investigation into the import of coal suspected of being from North Korea.“We were provided with intelligence related to allegations of importing North Korean coal from the relevant government agency in Oct. 2017.

We have been investigating the importer implicated in the intelligence in question and are currently wrapping up that investigation,” said a KCS official. The KCS is planning to announce the details of its investigation when it hands over the case to the prosecutors, after completing the investigation.  [Hankyoreh]

So the investigation has been going on for nearly a year which causes me to believe this is being slow rolled.    Here is what the ROK government is trying to get people to believe:

But until upcoming investigations have run their course, it’s too soon to say whether the coal these companies imported is actually from North Korea. There are a number of possibilities that will have to be determined by investigators. The companies may have actually imported Russian coal; they may have known it was North Korean coal and passed it off as Russian; or they may have been fooled by Russian companies and imported coal without realizing it was from North Korea.

“We’re getting this intelligence from an ally, and the intelligence itself does not constitute definitive proof that the coal is from North Korea,” said an official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

I get the feeling this investigation will lead no where, but I guess we will see.

Here we go with yet another report of the Russians violating UN sanctions:

Russia engaged in more extensive oil exports to North Korea than had been previously reported, by setting up an illicit trade network that is likely still being used today to evade United Nations sanctions, according a South Korean research organization.

A recent report issued by the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul used Russian customs data to document how “one North Korean state enterprise purchased 622,878 tons of Russian oil worth $238 million,” between 2015 and 2017.”

While China is North Korea’s main oil supplier, the ASAN estimate for Russian oil exports to North Korea is significantly higher than the $25 million in sales for the same period that was reported by the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) in Seoul.

“Smuggling has always been an important element in the cross-border trade between North Korea and it’s important allies. What the Chinese government and the Russian government to a lesser extent have been doing is to turn a blind eye to these activities,” said Go Myong-Hyun, a North Korea analyst with the Asan Institute For Policy Studies in Seoul.  [Voice of America]

You can read much more of how Russia is aiding North Korea’s efforts to get around UN sanctions at the link.

The Moon administration is now playing defense over the reports of ships carrying North Korean coal being allowed to dock in South Korea:

The South Korean government on Tuesday dismissed a report that another foreign vessel carrying North Korean coal has entered a southeastern port in the country, potentially in breach of U.N. Security Council sanctions.

VOA, a U.S.-based broadcaster, reported earlier that a Belize-flagged ship, the Jin Long, docked at South Korea’s southeastern port of Pohang on the weekend and is still believed to be at the port. It cited the MarineTraffic vessel locating service.

The ship had been spotted at the Russian port of Nakhodka, along with black materials believed to be North Korean coal, days before arriving in Pohang, it added.

Rep. Yoo Ki-june, a South Korean opposition lawmaker, also said the freighter suspected of carrying 5,100 tons of North Korean coal is anchored at the Pohang port.

South Korea’s foreign ministry confirmed the entry of the ship itself but said it’s carrying Russian coal.

“There has been no confirmation of a violation of the (U.N.) Security Council resolution in an inspection of the ship by related authorities,” the ministry’s spokesman Noh Kyu-duk said at a press briefing.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link, but of course the documents are going to say it is “Russian coal”.  These would not be very good smugglers if they are advertising they are shipping North Korean coal.  What are the intelligence agencies saying that it is because they have the assets to determine where the coal actually came from.

Additionally what about the 52 other suspected ships smuggling North Korean coal through South Korean ports over the past year?