What sanctions? North Korea continues importing oil, cars and alcohol, UN says
- International sanctions have been imposed on Pyongyang since 2017, banning its exports of coal, fish and textiles and limiting oil imports
- The move was made to push the country to stop its nuclear and ballistic weapons programmes, but so far the measures have been unsuccessful
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“The DPRK violates the resolutions through illicit import of petroleum,” said the report, which was conducted by experts responsible for monitoring the application of sanctions and referred to an abbreviated form of the North’s official name.
China ‘failing to send North Korean workers home’ despite sanctions
North Korea has “increased procurement including through a notable increase in the number of these larger foreign-flagged tankers directly delivering to the DPRK on multiple occasions,” the experts said, without identifying their origin.
In 2017, several sets of international sanctions were imposed on Pyongyang, limiting its oil imports and banning its exports of coal, fish and textiles, to push the country to stop its nuclear and ballistic weapons programmes.
To date, the measures have been unsuccessful.
Negotiations between Pyongyang and Washington have been deadlocked over issues of sanctions relief and what the North would be willing to give up in return.
The UN Panel of Experts said they received, as in the previous year, a report from the US with satellite images and data covering the period from January 1, 2019 to October 31.
The US report purportedly showed that North Korea exceeded the authorised import quotas for refined oil.
“The Russian Federation and China requested more conclusive evidence to make a judgment,” said the report.
The document also noted that “the DPRK continued to flout UN Security Council resolutions through illicit maritime exports of commodities, notably coal and sand.”
Pyongyang also “continued to import luxury goods and other sanctioned items, including luxury vehicles, alcohol and robotic machinery.”
The country has continued “to access international banking channels in violation of UN sanctions, mainly by using third-party intermediaries,” the report found.
North Korea “continued illegally to acquire virtual currencies and to conduct cyberattacks against global banks to evade financial sanctions.”
This was despite the “huge losses” suffered by Beijing from implementing UN decisions, it said.
“It is imperative for the Security Council … to make necessary adjustments to the sanctions measures especially in areas concerning the livelihood” of North Korean citizens, it said in the statement.
