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Missile funding?: #NorthKorea seen smuggling coal to #China
//North Korea is likely shipping coal directly to Chinese ports, activity that is banned from international trade under United Nations Security Council sanctions, a Nikkei investigation found.
Nikkei obtained satellite images of a North Korean-registered ship carrying coal, and confirmed that the ship directly went to China by examining data from the vessel's automatic identification system (AIS).
It is likely that China -- one of five permanent members of the Security Council -- is involved in smuggling activities and shows that current U.N. sanctions against Pyongyang to prevent it acquiring funds for missile development are not being fully implemented...
Nikkei obtained data on about 180 vessels -- including North Korean-flagged ships and vessels that had been cited for sanctions violations in the past -- from ship information companies MarineTraffic and Refinitiv, and traced their movements for about 18 months from January 2021.
There were 37 vessels that stayed in the port of Longkou for several days while transmitting AIS data. Similarly, at least 20 vessels called at ports in Liaoning and Hebei provinces, which handle large volumes of coal.
Regarding the movements of North Korean vessels, there have been previous reports that they would cut their AIS transmissions, making them impossible to follow, and trade at night.
Observers have often noted ship-to-ship transfers North Korea has used to circumvent conventional distribution channels, but it appears the country does not try to hide sanction-violating shipments anymore.//
Source: Asia Nikkei #Jun29
https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/N-Korea-at-crossroads/Missile-funding-North-Korea-seen-smuggling-coal-to-China
#UN #CCP
//North Korea is likely shipping coal directly to Chinese ports, activity that is banned from international trade under United Nations Security Council sanctions, a Nikkei investigation found.
Nikkei obtained satellite images of a North Korean-registered ship carrying coal, and confirmed that the ship directly went to China by examining data from the vessel's automatic identification system (AIS).
It is likely that China -- one of five permanent members of the Security Council -- is involved in smuggling activities and shows that current U.N. sanctions against Pyongyang to prevent it acquiring funds for missile development are not being fully implemented...
Nikkei obtained data on about 180 vessels -- including North Korean-flagged ships and vessels that had been cited for sanctions violations in the past -- from ship information companies MarineTraffic and Refinitiv, and traced their movements for about 18 months from January 2021.
There were 37 vessels that stayed in the port of Longkou for several days while transmitting AIS data. Similarly, at least 20 vessels called at ports in Liaoning and Hebei provinces, which handle large volumes of coal.
Regarding the movements of North Korean vessels, there have been previous reports that they would cut their AIS transmissions, making them impossible to follow, and trade at night.
Observers have often noted ship-to-ship transfers North Korea has used to circumvent conventional distribution channels, but it appears the country does not try to hide sanction-violating shipments anymore.//
Source: Asia Nikkei #Jun29
https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/N-Korea-at-crossroads/Missile-funding-North-Korea-seen-smuggling-coal-to-China
#UN #CCP
Nikkei Asia
Missile funding?: North Korea seen smuggling coal to China
Nikkei probe of satellite imagery finds both nations may be violating UN sanctions