China, Russia Veto U.S. Sponsored Resolution Pushing For More U.N. Sanctions On North Korea

Members of the United Nations Security Council gather during a meeting about the situation in Venezuela, in New York, US, February 26, 2019. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton  

The Hill: US effort to impose tougher UN sanctions on North Korea blocked by China, Russia  

China and Russia on Thursday blocked an effort to impose tougher sanctions on North Korea at the United Nations Security Council that was led by the U.S. after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un conducted a spate of missile tests this year, including the launch of several intercontinental ballistic missiles. 

Both China and Russia hold veto powers at the U.N. Security Council, which they exercised after the introduction of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) — North Korea’s official name — for the tests with more restrictive sanctions.  

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Update #1: China, Russia veto U.S. push for more U.N. sanctions on North Korea (Reuters)  

Update #2: China and Russia veto new UN sanctions on North Korea (AP) 

 WNU Editor: China and Russia vetoed the resolution. The council’s 13 other members voted in favor.

China And Russia Block A US Push To Impose Additional Sanctions On North Koreans At The UN

 

CNA/AFP: China, Russia block US push for UN sanctions on North Koreans: Diplomats  

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -China and Russia delayed a U.S. bid to impose U.N. sanctions on five North Koreans on Thursday, diplomats said, as Pyongyang suggested it may resume tests of nuclear weapons and long-range missiles. 

The move by China and Russia came ahead of a closed-door U.N. Security Council meeting on North Korea later on Thursday -- the second in two weeks -- after Pyongyang fired tactical guided missiles on Monday. 

"These launches demonstrate the regime's determination to pursue weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs at all costs, including at the expense of its own people," seven council members - the United States, Albania, Brazil, France, Ireland, the United Arab Emirates, Britain - and Japan said in a joint statement at the United Nations.  

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Update #1: China, Russia delay U.S. bid to sanction North Koreans at U.N. (Reuters)  

Update #2: China, Russia block US bid to sanction North Koreans at UN (Al Jazeera)  

WNU Editor: Both Russia and China are against imposing oil sanctions at this moment in time .... Russia, China urge delay as US seeks to cut off oil to N.Korea (AFP).

US Imposes Sanctions On North Korea's Missile Program

 

CNBC: U.S. sanctions 8 people and entities following North Korean missile launches 

* The Biden administration sanctioned eight people and entities for their involvement in developing weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile-related programs. 

* The sanctions come on the heels of at least two known North Korean ballistic missile tests. 

* Four of the North Korean nationals are based in China and two are based in Russia, while another sanctioned individual is a Russian national. 

WASHINGTON – The Biden administration announced Wednesday that it was imposing sanctions on eight people and entities for their work in developing weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile-related programs for Pyongyang. 

The sanctions come on the heels of at least two known North Korean ballistic missile tests. 

The Treasury Department first announced sanctions on five North Koreans, then the State Department followed with measures targeting one North Korean, one Russian and a Russian entity. 

The most recent test came Monday, the second launch in a week. 

It originated from the northern province of Jagang and traveled some 430 miles before plunging into the East Sea, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.  

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US Imposes Sanctions On North Korea's Missile Program  

US hits NKorean officials with sanctions after missile test -- AP  

Biden imposes first sanctions over North Korea weapons program after missile tests -- Reuters 

U.S. Sanctions Individuals Based In China And Russia For Aiding North Korean Weapons Programs -- RFE  

US Targets North Koreans in Russia, China for Aiding Pyongyang’s Weapons Development -- VOA  

US imposes sanctions on North Korean and Russian individuals tied to North Korea's missile programs -- CNN  

Biden admin hits North Korea officials with sanctions over hypersonic missile test -- FOX News

U.S. Seizes Tanker Used To Evade North Korean Sanctions

This undated handout image obtained July 30, 2021, courtesy of the U.S. Department of Justice, shows oil tanker M/T Courageous docked in an undisclosed location.  

Reuters: U.S. says seizes tanker used to evade North Korea sanctions 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department (DoJ) on Friday announced the seizure of a 2,734-ton tanker it said was owned and operated by a Singaporean national and used to make shipments of petroleum products to North Korea in violation of international sanctions.

A DoJ statement said the M/T Courageous was seized by Cambodian authorities in March 2020 in accordance with a U.S. warrant, having been used to transfer oil products to North Korean vessels and to make direct shipments to the North Korean port of Nampo. 

"Criminal charges of conspiracy to evade economic sanctions on the DPRK and money laundering conspiracy are pending against the alleged owner and operator of the Courageous, Kwek Kee Seng, a Singaporean national who remains at large," it said, using the acronym of North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

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More News On The U.S. Seizing A Tanker Used To Evade North Korean Sanctions  

US Seizes Tanker Used to Deliver Oil to North Korea -- VOA/AFP  

US seizes Singaporean tanker for evading North Korea sanctions -- Nikkei Asia  

US seizes tanker shipping oil to North Korea in violation of sanctions -- Washington Examiner  

US seizes tanker used to evade North Korea sanctions -- Al Jazeera  

US Court Ordered to Confiscate Tanker That Was Illegally Supplying North Korea With Oil -- Sputnik

Two Dozen North Korean Bankers Charged In $2.5 Billion Money-Laundering Scheme To Support The Nuclear Program

CNN: More than two dozen North Korean bankers charged in $2.5 billion money-laundering scheme

The US Justice Department on Thursday unsealed criminal charges against more than two dozen North Korean bankers, alleging they were behind an international money laundering scheme that moved some $2.5 billion in violation of US sanctions.

Twenty-eight North Korean nationals face a slew of charges related to bank fraud, money laundering and criminal enterprises, in what appears to be the first case brought against members of the North Korean financial system.

The 50-page indictment, which was signed in February and unsealed Thursday morning in Washington, DC, federal court, details a web of front companies and "cover branches" of a state-sponsored bank that were stood up in foreign countries, including China and Russia to help skirt international restricts on the regime's ability to spend globally. Five Chinese nationals also were charged.

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More News On The U.S. Charging Two Dozen North Korean Bankers For A $2.5 Billion Money-Laundering Scheme To Support The Nuclear Program

US charges North Koreans in $2.5B sanctions-busting scheme -- AP
U.S. indicts North Koreans, accuses state-owned bank of evading sanctions -- Reuters
U.S. brings massive N. Korean sanctions case, targeting state-owned bank and former government officials -- Washington Post
North Koreans Accused of Laundering $2.5 Billion for Nuclear Program -- NYTimes
Chinese, North Korean individuals charged in scheme to illegally divert funds to Pyongyang nuclear program -- FOX News
North Korean bank officials charged by US in sanctions case: AP -- The Hill
US Indicts North Korean, Chinese Nationals in $2.5 Billion Scheme Tied to Nuke Program -- Sputnik

South Korea Backtracks On Easing North Korean Sanctions

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha speaks with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at the presidential Blue House in Seoul on Sunday. REUTERS

Reuters: South Korea says no change on North Korean sanctions

South Korea never considered lifting sanctions against North Korea imposed over the 2010 sinking of a South Korean warship, the country’s Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon said on Thursday.

South Korea’s Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said on Wednesday that the sanctions, imposed against Pyongyang following a torpedo attack on a corvette that killed 46 South Korean sailors in 2010, were under review.

North Korea has denied any involvement in the sinking.

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WNU Editor: South Korea may be pulling back from easing sanctions, but China and Russia are putting pressure to do just that .... China, Russia push to ease N. Korea sanctions as Seoul mulls options (AFP). More here .... China, Russia, North Korea call for adjusted sanctions ahead of denuclearization (Politico/SCMP). I say what sanctions, because it seems that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is getting what he wants .... Kim Jong-un's Rolls-Royce shows sanctions are 'a bit of a joke' (Sydney Morning Herald).

More News On South Korea Backtracking On Easing North Korean Sanctions

Under pressure, South Korea backs off talk of easing sanctions on North -- AP
South Korea Backtracks on Easing Sanctions After Trump Comment -- The New York Times
Trump angry after South Korea signals it may ease North Korea sanctions -- The Guardian
Donald Trump Says South Korea Does ‘Nothing Without Our Approval’ and Won't Lift Sanctions on North Korea -- Newsweek
South Korea: Not seriously considering lifting sanctions against North -- The Hill
Trump Says Seoul Can Do Nothing Without U.S. Approval -- Chosun Ilbo

How Did North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un Get A Rolls Royce?

The Drive/Warzone: So Much For Sanctions! Kim Jong Un's New Ride Is A Rolls Royce Phantom

In a defiant move in regards to international sanctions, Kim showed up to meet Secretary of State Pompeo in the most opulent automobile on the planet.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited North Korea on the 7th of October, 2018 to try and jump-start denuclearization talks with North Korean officials. After being snubbed by Kim on his last visit, Pompeo met with the increasingly visible North Korean leader this time around and Kim's arrival at the engagement was quite grand indeed. Video from the meeting shows Pompeo waiting in a foyer when two big ornate doors swing open to the outside and Kim saunters over a red carpet and across the foyer to embrace Pompeo. But it's not what happened in the foreground of this video that's most interesting, it's what was sitting in the background—a big, gleaming Rolls Royce Phantom.

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WNU Editor: When there is a will, there is a way. And it looks like Kim Jong-un wanted a Rolls.

Will Today's North And South Korean Announcement To Improve Economic Ties Break U.N. Sanctions?

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attend a luncheon in Pyongyang, North Korea, September 19, 2018. Pyeongyang Press Corps/Pool via REUTERS

Reuters: Korea summit economic pledge raises sanctions-busting fears

A pledge by the leaders of North and South Korea to foster economic ties has heightened worries among skeptics that Seoul’s push to revive nuclear talks could undermine the sanction regime credited with bringing Pyongyang to the negotiating table.

Speaking at a joint news conference in Pyongyang on Wednesday, South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in said he and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un agreed to the normalization of the Kaesong joint border industrial park and tours to North Korea’s Mount Kumgang.

The two projects, which were suspended amid tensions between the rivals under Moon’s two conservative predecessors, had been lucrative sources of cash for the impoverished North.

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Update: Proposed Inter-Korean Projects Could Violate UN, US Sanctions -- VOA

WNU Editor: South Korea is already sending goods to North Korea that are sanctioned .... South Korea sends sanctioned material to North Korea, politician says (Reuters). And while today's announcement can be interpreted as a violation of current UN sanctions .... no one is going to complain if it brings peace to the peninsula.

U.S. Sanctions Chinese And Russian Firms for Violating North Korean Sanctions

CNN: US Treasury targets companies in Russia, China for violating North Korea sanctions

(CNN)The US government on Wednesday moved to increase economic pressure on North Korea, adding new sanctions that target one individual and three shipping companies in Singapore, China and Russia for violating restrictions on trade with Pyongyang.

The Treasury Department announcement follows criticism from US officials that United Nations members needed to more strictly enforce sanctions against North Korea as part of the effort to get Pyongyang to denuclearize.

US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley directly called out Russia and China in July, when she and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called on other countries to maintain economic pressure on Pyongyang to push the country to denuclearize.

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More News On The U.S. Sanctioning Chinese And Russian Firms for Violating North Korean Sanctions

U.S. targets Chinese and Russian firms with breach of North Korea sanctions -- Reuters
U.S. sanctions Chinese, Russian firms for helping North Korea -- AP
Trump administration targets Chinese and Russian companies over illegal shipments to North Korea -- CNBC
Treasury targets Chinese, Russian shipping firms for violating North Korea sanctions -- The Hill

Japan, South Korea, And The U.S. Reaffirmed Their Commitment To North Korea Sanctions

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Japan's Foreign Minister Taro Kono and South Korea's Foreign Minister Kang Kyung Wha shake hands for members of the media as they meet in Tokyo, Japan, July 8, 2018. Andrew Harnik/Pool via Reuters

Reuters: Japan says reaffirmed commitment to North Korea sanctions with U.S., South Korea

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Taro Kono said on Sunday Tokyo, the United States and South Korea reaffirmed their commitment to implement sanctions against North Korea until it abandoned its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes.

The statement came after he met U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha in Tokyo.

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WNU Editor: North Korea needs to cough up something to keep this process going, or sanctions will remain.

Japan News: North Korea's Kim Jung-un Asked Chinese President Xi For Help In Lifting Sanctions

Chinese President Xi Jinping shakes hands with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Beijing, China, in this undated photo released June 20, 2018 by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency. KCNA via REUTERS

Reuters: North Korea's Kim asked China to bring early end to sanctions: Yomiuri

TOKYO (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un asked Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting in Beijing in June to work towards bringing an early end to economic sanctions imposed on his country, Japan’s Yomiuri newspaper reported on Sunday.

Kim told Xi that he wanted China’s help to end the sanctions because it successfully concluded a summit between the United States and North Korea on June 12, the Yomiuri reported, citing unnamed sources close to the matter.

Xi said he would make the “utmost effort” in response to Kim’s request, the Yomiuri said.

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Update #1: N. Korea's Kim asked China's Xi to help lift sanctions: report (AFP)
Update #2: Kim Reportedly Asked Xi to Help Lifting Sanctions, Seeking China's Support (Sputnik)

WNU Editor: Since the North Koreans are not in the habit of leaking news to the press, I can only assume that it is the Chinese government itself that decided to give a heads-up to everyone that the North Koreans want Chinese help to lift sanctions. I have also noticed that this report is being used by the Chinese government to inform its own citizens that China is actively involved on what is happening on the Korean Peninsula .... in case anyone has any doubts on China's involvement. As to what is my take on this request .... if North Korea wants sanctions lifted, they should focus their energies on South Korea and the U.S.. In the end it is these two countries that will decide the fate of international sanctions .... not China.

U.N. Blacklists 27 Ships And 21 Companies For Helping North Korea Avoid Sanctions

Reuters: U.N. blacklists dozens of ships, companies over North Korea smuggling

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations Security Council blacklisted dozens of ships and shipping companies on Friday over oil and coal smuggling by North Korea, boosting pressure on Pyongyang as leader Kim Jong Un plans to meet with his South Korean and U.S. counterparts.

The council’s North Korea sanctions committee acted on a request by the United States, designating 21 shipping companies — including five based in China — 15 North Korean ships, 12 non-North Korean ships and a Taiwanese man.

The move comes days after Kim met Chinese President Xi Jinping and an announcement that the North Korean leader would meet South Korean President Moon Jae-in on April 27. He is also scheduled to meet U.S. President Donald Trump some time in May.

While Trump has agreed to meet Kim, he tweeted on Wednesday that “maximum sanctions and pressure must be maintained.”

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More News On The U.N. Imposing More Sanctions On Companies That Deal With North Korea

UN blacklists 27 ships and 21 companies for helping North Korea dodge sanctions -- South China Morning Post
UN Unveils Blacklist to Fight North Korea Sanctions-Busting -- New York Times
US says Security Council approves new sanctions on NKorea -- AP
North Korea: UN Security Council blacklists dozens of ships, companies over illegal smuggling -- ABC News Online
UN Security Council moves to enforce sanctions against North Korea -- The Hill
UN blacklists dozens of ships and companies for North Korean smuggling operations -- Business Insider
UN blacklists companies, ships for helping North Korea -- Aljazeera