The US accuses two Russian ports of violating sanctions against North Korea
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Department of the Treasury stated that they suspect two Russian ports in Vladivostok and Nakhodka of violating the sanctions regime established by the UN Security Council against North Korea.
According to the U.S. Treasury, vessels that participated in the transshipment of oil and coal to North Korean tankers visited Vladivostok and Nakhodka ports.
In addition to the two Russian ports, this scheme also involved four ports in China, four in Taiwan, three in South Korea and one port in Malaysia.
“Treasury will continue to enforce our sanctions, and we are making it explicitly clear that shipping companies employing deceptive tactics to mask illicit trade with North Korea expose themselves to great risk,” reads the statement.
The U.S. Treasury Department added the Russian Tantalus and Vityaz ships to the list of violators of sanctions against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, noting that this inclusion does not automatically mean the introduction of sanctions against them.
Up to this point, more than 60 vessels appeared in the lists of violators of the sanctions regime against North Korea. On March 21, 18 more ships from different countries were added to the list
The UN Security Council introduced new international sanctions against the DPRK in December last year. The United States was the author of the resolution with the new restrictive measures against Pyongyang. The resolution that aimed at limiting around 90% refined products export to North Korea was the “answer” to the DPRK’s latest test of a ballistic missile.
In addition to the oil export restriction to North Korea, the document requires that all UN countries retrieve all their labor migrants from the DPRK to their homeland within two years. Pyongyang regarded this resolution as “equivalent to a complete economic blockade” of the country.
Earlier, the Russian Foreign Ministry stated that it was fully abiding by the UN international sanctions against North Korea and denied accusations of Moscow’s illegal trade with the DPRK.