UNITED NATIONS: North Korea has not stopped its nuclear and missile programs in violation of United Nations sanctions, according to a confidential UN report seen by Reuters on Friday.
The six-month report by independent experts monitoring the implementation of UN sanctions was submitted to the Security Council North Korea sanctions committee late on Friday.
“(North Korea) has not stopped its nuclear and missile programs and continued to defy Security Council resolutions through a massive increase in illicit ship-to-ship transfers of petroleum products, as well as through transfers of coal at sea during 2018,” the experts wrote in the 149-page report.
The North Korean mission to the United Nations did not respond to a request for comment on the report.
The UN report said North Korea is cooperating militarily with Syria and has been trying to sell weapons to Yemen’s Houthis.
Pyongyang also violated a textile ban by exporting more than $100 million in goods between October 2017 and March 2018 to China, Ghana, India, Mexico, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Turkey and Uruguay, the report said.
The report comes as Russia and China suggest the Security Council discuss easing sanctions after US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met for the first time in June and Kim pledged to work toward denuclearization.
The United States and other council members have said there must be strict enforcement of sanctions until Pyongyang acts.
The UN experts said illicit ship-to-ship transfers of petroleum products in international waters had “increased in scope, scale and sophistication.” They said a key North Korean technique was to turn off a ship’s tracking system, but that they were also physically disguising ships and using smaller vessels.
The Security Council has unanimously sanctioned North Korea since 2006 in a bid to choke off funding for Pyongyang’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, banning exports including coal, iron, lead, textiles and seafood, and capping imports of crude oil and refined petroleum products.
The experts said “prohibited military cooperation with the Syrian Arab Republic has continued unabated.” They said North Korean technicians engaged in ballistic missile and other banned activities have visited Syria in 2011, 2016 and 2017.
The report said that experts were investigating efforts by the North Korean Ministry of Military Equipment and Korea Mining Development Trading Corporation (KOMID) to supply conventional arms and ballistic missiles to Yemen’s Houthi group.
A country, which was not identified, showed the experts a July 13, 2016 letter from a Houthi leader inviting the North Koreans to meet in Damascus “to discuss the issue of the transfer of technology and other matters of mutual interest,” according to the report.
The experts said that the effectiveness of financial sanctions was being systematically undermined by “deceptive practices” of North Korea.
North Korea trying to sell weapons to Houthis, secret UN report reveals
North Korea trying to sell weapons to Houthis, secret UN report reveals
- The UN report said North Korea is cooperating militarily with Syria and has been trying to sell weapons to Yemen’s Houthis
- The Security Council has unanimously sanctioned North Korea since 2006 in a bid to choke off funding for Pyongyang’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs
Two injured in Swiss explosives blast
- The explosion happened at a rural facility used for handling explosives and for fire safety training
- Zurich cantonal police force said: “The explosives, which were supposed to burn, detonated”
ZURICH: Two people were slightly injured and several buildings were damaged Wednesday when the attempted disposal of several hundred kilograms of explosives accidentally sparked a giant blast, Swiss police said.
The explosion happened at a rural facility used for handling explosives and for fire safety training, around 15 kilometers (nine miles) west of Zurich, Switzerland’s biggest city, in the Illnau-Effretikon municipality.
“Shortly after 1:00 p.m. (1200 GMT), a private demolition company began disposing of several hundred kilograms of explosives at the Tatsch test and training facility,” the Zurich cantonal police force said in a statement.
“The explosives, which were supposed to burn, detonated. This created a crater several meters in diameter.
“The shockwave caused significant damage to several buildings and shelters on the site.
“Two employees of the company involved sustained minor injuries and received medical treatment at the scene.”
The police force said it received several reports of damage to buildings in the area beyond the site, but the extent of the damage had yet to be quantified.
Images published by Swiss media showed a white plume of smoke rising above a hilltop, visible from kilometers away.
Other images showed an industrial building with its metal walls ripped off and other buildings with shattered windows.
The police and prosecutors are investigating the exact cause of the accident. Forensic specialists were sent to the scene to secure evidence.
The Swiss Seismological Service, based at the ETH Zurich university, said it detected the explosion at 1:07 p.m. (1207 GMT), at a magnitude of 0.4.
“A clearly audible detonation occurred in the Illnau-Effretikon area, triggering a powerful sound wave,” the municipality said on its website.
“The shockwave caused damage to buildings (broken glass/window panes, loose tiles),” it said, adding: “There is no danger to the public.”
