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US cracks down on North Korean shipping, China, UN seem cooperative
来源： 编辑：编辑部 发布：2018/02/27 09:09:20
US President Donald Trump has announced a fresh round of sanctions against North Korean shipping to block oil and other prohibited products from getting there, Reuters reports.
"We have imposed the heaviest sanctions ever," said President Trump in a speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference in Oxen Hill, Maryland, outside Washington.
More than 50 ships and shipping companies were cited by the US Treasury Department for evading existing US and international sanctions. While most of those name were based in North Korea, companies and ships from China, Singapore, Taiwan, Panama, Tanzania, the Marshall Islands and the Comoros were also included.
The measures are part of the administration's "maximum pressure campaign" on North Korea and are designed to put pressure on the country for its expanding nuclear weapons programme.
Despite the ongoing efforts by the US administration, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has insisted his country will never give up the nuclear programme and has been making rapid advances over the past year.
The latest US steps come at a moment when North Korea and South Korea have experienced a slight thaw in relations linked to the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Senior North Korean figures have visited and met South Korean leaders.
The United Nations Security Council has imposed three sets of sanctions on North Korea in the past year. The restrictions are intended to deprive it of revenue and resources for its nuclear and ballistic missile development.
Washington is particularly concerned about exports of North Korean coal that are prohibited by the UN sanctions and ship-to-ship transfers of imported oil and petroleum products.
The US Treasury Department has designated a Taiwanese citizen, Tsang Yung Yuan, and two companies he owns or controls. Mr Tsang was said to have coordinated North Korean coal exports with a Russia-based North Korean broker, and attempted US$1 million oil deal with a Russian company sanctioned for dealing with the North.
"We are putting companies and countries across the world on notice that this administration views compliance with US and UN sanctions as a national security imperative. Those who trade with North Korea do so at their own peril," said a Treasury Department spokesman.
China exported barely any fuel to North Korea in January, data showed, deepening months-long cuts in trade with its isolated neighbour amid growing tensions over Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programme.
Official data from the General Administration of Customs showed a fourth straight month of no diesel, petrol or fuel oil shipments. China has traditionally been the main source of North Korea's fuel.
The only oil product sent to North Korea was 201 tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
The export breakdown by product comes after data showed trade with North Korea fell to the lowest level in dollar terms on records going back to June 2014.
"We have imposed the heaviest sanctions ever," said President Trump in a speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference in Oxen Hill, Maryland, outside Washington.
More than 50 ships and shipping companies were cited by the US Treasury Department for evading existing US and international sanctions. While most of those name were based in North Korea, companies and ships from China, Singapore, Taiwan, Panama, Tanzania, the Marshall Islands and the Comoros were also included.
The measures are part of the administration's "maximum pressure campaign" on North Korea and are designed to put pressure on the country for its expanding nuclear weapons programme.
Despite the ongoing efforts by the US administration, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has insisted his country will never give up the nuclear programme and has been making rapid advances over the past year.
The latest US steps come at a moment when North Korea and South Korea have experienced a slight thaw in relations linked to the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Senior North Korean figures have visited and met South Korean leaders.
The United Nations Security Council has imposed three sets of sanctions on North Korea in the past year. The restrictions are intended to deprive it of revenue and resources for its nuclear and ballistic missile development.
Washington is particularly concerned about exports of North Korean coal that are prohibited by the UN sanctions and ship-to-ship transfers of imported oil and petroleum products.
The US Treasury Department has designated a Taiwanese citizen, Tsang Yung Yuan, and two companies he owns or controls. Mr Tsang was said to have coordinated North Korean coal exports with a Russia-based North Korean broker, and attempted US$1 million oil deal with a Russian company sanctioned for dealing with the North.
"We are putting companies and countries across the world on notice that this administration views compliance with US and UN sanctions as a national security imperative. Those who trade with North Korea do so at their own peril," said a Treasury Department spokesman.
China exported barely any fuel to North Korea in January, data showed, deepening months-long cuts in trade with its isolated neighbour amid growing tensions over Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programme.
Official data from the General Administration of Customs showed a fourth straight month of no diesel, petrol or fuel oil shipments. China has traditionally been the main source of North Korea's fuel.
The only oil product sent to North Korea was 201 tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
The export breakdown by product comes after data showed trade with North Korea fell to the lowest level in dollar terms on records going back to June 2014.