SEOUL: North Korea is violating international sanctions aimed at curbing its nuclear program by exceeding a cap on petroleum imports and sending its workers overseas, including a former Juventus footballer, the United Nations said.
Pyongyang is subject to a range of restrictions imposed since 2017 that limit its oil imports and ban exports of coal, fish and textiles.
It has nonetheless continued to develop its nuclear and ballistic missile arsenal, analysts say, despite three high-profile meetings between leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump.
The UN Security Council on Monday said an annual 500,000 barrel cap on imports of refined petroleum products had been broken in just the first five months of 2020.
A report by the intergovernmental panel said deliveries to the authoritarian state “far exceeded” the ceiling, based on “imagery, data and calculations.”
“The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and foreign-flagged vessels and their owners continued elaborate evasion practices” to illicitly import oil, UN experts said, using the North’s official name.
The report did not say which countries had been exporting to North Korea but shipments also included luxury cars and alcohol.
China and Russia, Pyongyang’s key allies, dismissed the findings, saying they were “based on assumptions and estimations.”
The UN report said the North “continued to flout Security Council resolutions through illicit maritime exports of coal, although it suspended such exports temporarily between late January and early March 2020.”
Negotiations between Pyongyang and Washington over the North’s nuclear program are at a standstill over disputes on sanctions relief and what the North would be willing to give up in return.
The report pointed out that professional footballer Han Kwang Song was transferred from Serie A club Juventus to Al-Duhail in Qatar in January in violation of UN resolutions banning North Korean nationals working overseas.
“Although the panel contacted Italy and Qatar on Mr.Han’s transfer immediately after the announcement, the transfer has not been canceled,” the UN report said.
The 22-year-forward was paid approximately $607,000 per year by Juventus between 2018 and January 2020, it added.
He will receive more than $5 million over the next five years from his new team under a multi-year contract.
“The panel reiterated to Qatar the relevant resolutions concerning the case,” the report said.
The UN sanctions require member states to repatriate North Koreans working overseas, with a deadline to do so passing in December 2019.
But the panel said “only around 40” nations had submitted reports on efforts to send back citizens.
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North Korea flouting nuclear sanctions: UN report
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North Korea flouting nuclear sanctions: UN report
- The UN Security Council on Monday said an annual 500,000 barrel cap on imports of refined petroleum products had been broken
Trump renews push to annex Greenland
- President Donald Trump doubled down Sunday on his claim that Greenland should become part of the United States, despite calls by Denmark’s prime minister to stop “threatening” the territory
COPENHAGEN: President Donald Trump doubled down Sunday on his claim that Greenland should become part of the United States, despite calls by Denmark’s prime minister to stop “threatening” the territory.
Washington’s military intervention in Venezuela has reignited fears for Greenland, which Trump has repeatedly said he wants to annex, given its strategic location in the Arctic.
While aboard Air Force One en route to Washington, Trump reiterated the goal.
“We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security, and Denmark is not going to be able to do it,” he said in response to a reporter’s question.
“We’ll worry about Greenland in about two months... let’s talk about Greenland in 20 days.”
Over the weekend, the Danish prime minister called on Washington to stop “threatening its historical ally.”
“I have to say this very clearly to the United States: it is absolutely absurd to say that the United States should take control of Greenland,” Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in a statement.
She also noted that Denmark, “and thus Greenland,” was a NATO member protected by the agreement’s security guarantees.
’Disrespectful’
Trump rattled European leaders by attacking Caracas and grabbing Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, who is now being detained in New York.
Trump has said the United States will now “run” Venezuela indefinitely and tap its huge oil reserves.
Asked in a telephone interview with The Atlantic about the implications of the Venezuela military operation for mineral-rich Greenland, Trump said it was up to others to decide.
“They are going to have to view it themselves. I really don’t know,” Trump was quoted as saying.
He added: “But we do need Greenland, absolutely. We need it for defense.”
Hours later, former aide Katie Miller, the wife of Trump’s most influential adviser, drew ire by posting an image of Greenland in the colors of the US flag, captioning it “SOON.”
Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen called Miller’s post “disrespectful.”
“Relations between nations and peoples are built on mutual respect and international law — not on symbolic gestures that disregard our status and our rights,” he wrote on X.
But he also said “there is neither reason for panic nor for concern. Our country is not for sale, and our future is not decided by social media posts.”
Allies?
Stephen Miller is widely seen as the architect of much of Trump’s policies, guiding the president on his hard-line immigration policies and domestic agenda.
Denmark’s ambassador to the United States, Jesper Moeller Soerensen, offered a pointed “friendly reminder” in response to Katie Miller’s post that his country has “significantly boosted its Arctic security efforts” and worked together with Washington on that.
“We are close allies and should continue to work together as such,” Soerensen wrote.
Katie Miller was deputy press secretary under Trump at the Department of Homeland Security during his first term.
She later worked as communications director for then-vice president Mike Pence and also acted as his press secretary.
Washington’s military intervention in Venezuela has reignited fears for Greenland, which Trump has repeatedly said he wants to annex, given its strategic location in the Arctic.
While aboard Air Force One en route to Washington, Trump reiterated the goal.
“We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security, and Denmark is not going to be able to do it,” he said in response to a reporter’s question.
“We’ll worry about Greenland in about two months... let’s talk about Greenland in 20 days.”
Over the weekend, the Danish prime minister called on Washington to stop “threatening its historical ally.”
“I have to say this very clearly to the United States: it is absolutely absurd to say that the United States should take control of Greenland,” Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in a statement.
She also noted that Denmark, “and thus Greenland,” was a NATO member protected by the agreement’s security guarantees.
’Disrespectful’
Trump rattled European leaders by attacking Caracas and grabbing Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, who is now being detained in New York.
Trump has said the United States will now “run” Venezuela indefinitely and tap its huge oil reserves.
Asked in a telephone interview with The Atlantic about the implications of the Venezuela military operation for mineral-rich Greenland, Trump said it was up to others to decide.
“They are going to have to view it themselves. I really don’t know,” Trump was quoted as saying.
He added: “But we do need Greenland, absolutely. We need it for defense.”
Hours later, former aide Katie Miller, the wife of Trump’s most influential adviser, drew ire by posting an image of Greenland in the colors of the US flag, captioning it “SOON.”
Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen called Miller’s post “disrespectful.”
“Relations between nations and peoples are built on mutual respect and international law — not on symbolic gestures that disregard our status and our rights,” he wrote on X.
But he also said “there is neither reason for panic nor for concern. Our country is not for sale, and our future is not decided by social media posts.”
Allies?
Stephen Miller is widely seen as the architect of much of Trump’s policies, guiding the president on his hard-line immigration policies and domestic agenda.
Denmark’s ambassador to the United States, Jesper Moeller Soerensen, offered a pointed “friendly reminder” in response to Katie Miller’s post that his country has “significantly boosted its Arctic security efforts” and worked together with Washington on that.
“We are close allies and should continue to work together as such,” Soerensen wrote.
Katie Miller was deputy press secretary under Trump at the Department of Homeland Security during his first term.
She later worked as communications director for then-vice president Mike Pence and also acted as his press secretary.
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