Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


              UN Reports Details How North Korea Evaded Sanctions

   by Brian Padden

   A new study by the United Nations Security Council details how North
   Korea has effectively evaded international sanctions in the last
   decade. The study comes as the Council prepares to vote on new
   sanctions against the secretive and authoritarian state.

   The report, written by a U.N. panel that oversees sanctions violations,
   acknowledges that the four rounds of increasingly stronger U.N.
   measures imposed on North Korea since 2006, have failed to persuade the
   Kim Jong Un government to abandon its nuclear and ballistic missiles
   program.

   Given North Korea's recent nuclear test and satellite launch, and its
   insistence that its nuclear program is needed to deter the U.S. threat,
   the report says "there are serious questions about the efficacy of the
   current United Nations sanctions regime."

   The U.N. report documents a number of cases where North Korea has
   evaded sanctions, and reveals how it continues to use the international
   financial system, airlines and container shipping routes to trade in
   prohibited items.

   Lack of cooperation

   A 2006 U.N. resolution requires member states to report all inspections
   of North Korean cargo suspected of carrying arms or other products that
   have military purposes, even if no violation is found.  But in the last
   ten years only one member has filed a report.

   Southeast Asia, Africa and the Middle East, the report notes, continues
   to sell North Korea banned military hardware, such as unmanned aerial
   vehicle components and radar systems.

   The government of Myanmar was less than cooperative with the U.N. panel
   when contacted about the possible involvement of Myanmar-based entity
   Soe Min Htike in attempts to ship aluminum alloy rods to North Korea.
   The aluminum rods, which can be used to make nuclear centrifuges, were
   seized in Japan while in transit in 2012.

   ''

   Front companies

   The Korea Mining Development Trading Corporation (KOMID) was designated
   in April 2009 as a main exporter of North Korean goods and equipment
   relating to ballistic missiles and conventional weapons.

   But KOMID has been able to circumvent sanctions on its operations by
   using a different name and working though the Hong Kong shipping
   company Leader International.

   The China-based Dalian Union International Trading knowingly engaged in
   trade prohibited under U.N. sanctions by working through a bank account
   held by the Sunny International Development Company, registered in Hong
   Kong.

   "They adopted concealment techniques such as the use of foreign
   intermediaries, front company networks and incomplete documentation,"
   said the U.N. report.

   In 2015, Britain informed the panel about an attempt by North Korea to
   buy miniaturized optical equipment for drones through intermediaries
   based in China and registered in Hong Kong.

   Richard Wang (Dewen Wang in Chinese), director of HK Conie Technology,
   was listed on the export license application for the drone parts.

   The U.N. panel identified a trade relationship between HK Conie and a
   North Korean entity called Korean Pioneer Technology Company Ltd.,
   which reportedly used the alias Korea 21 Trading Company.

   Misleading documentation

   In 2013, a member state seized suspected cargo on its way from Beijing
   to Cairo.

   Documentation listed a North Korean company, Ryongsong Trading Co Ltd,
   as the shipper and an Egyptian company, MODA Authority International
   Optronic, as the consignee.

   The cargo was labeled as "machine spare parts", including relays,
   "coils," connectors and voltage circuit breakers commonly used in
   commercial fishing ships.

   Upon closer inspection the U.N. Panel found these items were spare
   parts used in Scud-B missile systems.

   ''

   Examining the wreckage

   In 2014, the U.N. panel examined a North Korean drone that crashed on a
   South Korean border island and concluded it was likely made by one of
   two Chinese companies.

   Manufacturers in the Czech Republic and Canada also make components
   used in the Chinese made unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

   An examination of the debris of a North Korean Unha-3 rocket launched
   in 2012 revealed the involvement of a Taipei-based company, the Royal
   Team Corporation (RTC).

   The report explained complicated payment schemes used to get around
   sanctions.

   The panel found that North Korea tried to hide its illicit dealing with
   RTC by sending payments through a third party company that it
   ostensibly paid to host a trade show.

   Cautionary tale

   The report reveals North Korean military ties with Uganda, Eritrea and
   Vietnam. It notes the use of armored limousines from Europe in military
   parades, the transfer of gold and luxury goods from Israel and Ghana,
   the ongoing involvement of banned North Korean agents from the
   Reconnaissance General Bureau and North Korean government ties to the
   Ocean Maritime Management Company, Limited.

   The new U.N. Security Council sanctions that are scheduled for a vote
   Wednesday are intended to prevent future violations by making
   inspections mandatory, tightening restrictions and increasing financial
   oversight.

   But the detailed extent of past evasions also illustrates the challenge
   ahead to implement sanctions against North Korea in many countries,
   including China, where enforcement has been lax.

   Youmi Kim in Seoul contributed to this report.
     __________________________________________________________________

   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/un-counts-the-ways-north-korea-evaded
   -sanctions/3215914.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/un-counts-the-ways-north-korea-evaded-sanctions/3215914.html