South Korea seized and inspected a vessel last month suspected of relaying fuel to North Korea in defiance of international sanctions, a foreign ministry official said on Friday.
The vessel, Lighthouse Winmore, which is registered in Hong Kong, was accused of transferring oil products to a North Korean ship in international waters in October, the official said.
The vessel was chartered by a Taiwanese company and carrying around 600 tonnes of fuel products from the South Korean port of Yeosu, but transferred part of its cargo to a North Korean vessel on October 19.
South Korean customs authorities briefly seized and inspected the ship when it returned to Yeosu Port on November 24, the official said, according to AFP.
‘Getting around UNSC sanctions’
The ship, chartered by Taiwanese firm Billions Bunker Group Corp, had visited Yeosu on October 11 to load up on Japanese refined oil before heading towards Taiwan.
But instead of going to Taiwan, it transferred the oil to the Sam Jong 2, plus three other non-North Korean vessels in international waters, the official said.
“This marks a typical case of North Korea shrewdly circumventing UN Security Council sanctions by using its illegal networks,” the official told journalists.
“The actions taken will be reported to the UN Security Council sanctions committee on North Korea in the future,” he said.
Ban on four North Korean vessels
South Korea had shared intelligence with the US about the detection of the illegal transaction, he added.
The Sam Jong 2 was one of four North Korean ships blocked from international ports by the UN Security Council on Thursday over suspicions they had carried goods banned by sanctions targeting Pyongyang’s weapons ambitions, diplomats said.
Meanwhile, Beijing rebuffed claims by US President Donald Trump that China had allowed oil shipments to go into North Korea.
‘We would never break UN resolutions’
It said reports of Chinese ships selling oil to Pyongyang did not accord with the facts and that China would never allow Chinese companies to violate UN resolutions.
China always implemented UN resolutions in their entirety, ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a daily news briefing. And if violations had really occurred China would deal with them seriously in accordance with the law.
Hua spoke after President Trump said on Thursday he was not happy about news this week that vessels were supplying oil to North Korea.
The Security Council has slapped three sets of sanctions on North Korea this year: one on August 5 targeting the iron, coal and fishing industries; another set on September 11 aimed at textiles and limiting oil supply; and the most recent on December 22 focused on refined petroleum products.
– with AFP and Reuters
Taiwan’s ship and Japanese products loaded in S. Korea – How funny that China got blamed.
Never judge them on what they say, just look at their actions.
Dont let the Taiwan registration on the ship or the HK registration of the company fool you. The individual who owns the HK based company actually lives and is from Guangzhou, which is mainland china. He is also listed as a shareholder of several shipping companies in China. China is adept at cheating and skirting international norms. Oil sales via a proxy or cutout is a second order diplomatic game that China has been playing on the face of sanctions. China had also previously used Pakistan as it’s proxy nuclear proliferator. The writing is on the wall – CCP makes the Sicilian Mafia look like kindergarten!
Heisenberg White typical Indian trash spouting garbage, as if having all the facts.
Indians should look themselves in the mirror or rather the puddle of cow pee before criticising others.
@Heisenberg White from New Delhi: can you share your sources about this owner of the HK based company who "lives and is from Guangzhou", and who "is also listed as a shareholder of several shipping companies in China"? What’s this guy’s name? And the names of those "several shipping companies in China"?
Shuami Bev Do some research before you comment. The Lighthouse Winmore is owned and managed by two Hong Kong-registered companies: Win More Shipping and Lighthouse Shipping Development.
Both companies are registered at different addresses in Guangzhou, with Gong Ruiqiang named as the director of both companies.
Gong owns 80 per cent of Lighthouse Shipping, with the rest owned by Zeng Haibo, also a person registered at an address in Guangzhou. The Lighthouse Winmore is owned and managed by two Hong Kong-registered companies: Win More Shipping and Lighthouse Shipping Development.
According to the Hong Kong Companies Registry, the companies are registered at different addresses in Guangzhou, with Gong Ruiqiang named as the director of both companies.
Gong owns 80 per cent of Lighthouse Shipping, with the rest owned by Zeng Haibo, a person registered at an address in Guangzhou. The Lighthouse Winmore is owned and managed by two Hong Kong-registered companies: Win More Shipping and Lighthouse Shipping Development.
According to the Hong Kong Companies Registry, the companies are registered at different addresses in Guangzhou, with Gong Ruiqiang named as the director of both companies.
Gong owns 80 per cent of Lighthouse Shipping, with the rest owned by Zeng Haibo, a person registered at an address in Guangzhou.
The best the chicoms can claim is that China failed to enforce the sanctions on their end!
Chin Liang Living in the Great Chinese Firewall is no excuse for ignorance!
So let me see Japanese oil bought and sold by a company based in the Chinese Province of Taiwan whose " governor" is not following the rules. Since Taiwan is a part of China, it’s time for the Central government to take over Taiwan’s administration so that that province will obey " rules" dictated by the UN
Heisenberg White : The crew members admitted they transfer the oil to North Korea ship under the direction of Taiwanese cargo owner. The whole incident has nothing to do with China.
Chin Liang
Finally, we now also have “Hindi Lives Matters”… 😉
Sadly, while there’s a “Black Lives Matters” movement, a “Hindu Lives Matters” movement, strangely, and phonemically, we have yet to see a movement nicknamed “white Live also Matters”…
So sad for Arabella’s Grandaddy… As hard as he try, there’s just no way he’s going to be able to protect pristine and lovely little Grandaughter from animals that preys on innocent little girls as Arabella’s.
Oh what the heck, here I come Dong Lang Himalayas…
😉
Heisenberg White If you are doing Dovals bidding or writing on behalf of some raw operative then both them and you are rank amateurs and are proof of why we are clueless about intelligence work in India.
In addition to complaining about the Xi dude, the trumpeter should cast his net wider to rein in the Taiwanese, Hongkonger and Japanese carpetbaggers
Chin Liang all Indians or just the ones you suspect or think have done something YOU do not agree with? Or are you just gneralising, which is how most people instigate hate against ‘others’.
Oh!!!
Shepa Shetti’s out courting the mighty bicepted and sexually inspiring Richard Geere, again, with the hope Geeres will help her put LORD KRISHNA’S "FACE" BACK on IT’S SHOULDER AGAIN and she’s all out to make sure it hapoen, shall we say?
It just kills me that these people never look back at the long and problem-free past they have with neighbouring countries in the region and how they had existed harmoniously throughout time in memorial until the…
"ARRIVAL of COLONIALISM WHICH TURNED THINGS UPSIDE DOWN FOR ASIA"
The irony of it all…