G7, others ask China to stop North Korea sanctions evasion in its waters
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[July 22, 2023]
By Michelle Nichols
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The Group of Seven, European Union and three
other countries plan to appeal to China for help to stop North Korea
evading United Nations sanctions by using Chinese territorial waters,
according to their letter seen by Reuters on Friday.
"We have concerns regarding the continuing presence of multiple oil
tankers ... that use your territorial waters in Sansha Bay as refuge to
facilitate their trade of sanctioned petroleum products to the DPRK,"
said the letter to be sent to China's U.N. Ambassador Zhang Jun.
The letter - signed by G7 members the United States, Canada, France,
Germany, Italy, Japan and Britain, plus Australia, New Zealand, South
Korea and the European Union - will provide satellite images that
"clearly indicates these practices continued to occur within China's
jurisdiction in 2022 and have continued in 2023."
North Korea, formally named Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK),
has been under U.N. sanctions for its missiles and nuclear programs
since 2006. This includes an annual cap of its imports of refined
petroleum and crude oil, imposed in 2017.
U.N. sanctions monitors have also long accused North Korea of evading
the measures, including by continuing illicit imports of refined
petroleum and exports of coal.
The Security Council has also blacklisted several ships for sanctions
busting. The satellite images to be provided to China show some of those
ships using its territorial waters.
"We encourage the Chinese government again to do more to identify and
prevent these vessels from anchoring or loitering in Chinese territorial
waters," the letter said.
UN SECURITY COUNCIL SPLIT
It also asks "that China inspects the vessels for evidence of illicit
oil smuggling, deny them all services, and ultimately expel them from
your waters as quickly as possible, if these vessels are discovered to
again be anchored in Sansha Bay."
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South Korea's Ambassador to the United
Nations Cho Hyun speaks during a meeting of the U.N. General
Assembly after China and Russia vetoed new sanctions on North Korea
in the U.N. Security Council, at U.N. headquarters in New York City,
New York, U.S., June 8, 2022. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo
The letter requests that China tell companies in the area that if
they provide services to these vessels they are "not only exposing
themselves to sanctions risk but also risk being publicly identified
as contributing to sanctions evasion."
China has repeatedly said it abides by U.N. Security Council
sanctions resolutions. It was not immediately clear when the letter
to Zhang was due to be sent.
"All parties should fully implement the DPRK-related Security
Council resolutions, especially the provisions relating to the
resumption of dialogue and political settlement, which should not be
selectively ignored," Zhang told a council last week at a meeting on
North Korea's latest missile launch.
For the past several years the council has been divided over how to
deal with Pyongyang. Russia and China, veto powers along with the
United States, Britain and France, have said more sanctions will not
help and want such measures to be eased.
North Korea has tested dozens of ballistic missile in the past 18
months and the United States has long been warning that Pyongyang is
ready to carry out a seventh nuclear test.
Pyongyang says it is exercising its right to self-defense with its
ballistic missile tests to safeguard its sovereignty and security
interests from military threats.
(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Richard Chang)
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