U.S. Blacklist 6 Companies For North Korea Coal Shipment

U.S. Blacklist 6 Companies For North Korea Coal Shipment
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The U. S. The Treasury Department had on Tuesday that the United States has blacklisted six companies, including those based in China, and four ships being accused of illicit exports of North Korean coal.

North Korean coal was banned for exports in 2017 by the United Nations Security Council. The 15-member body has unanimously boosted sanctions on North Korea since 2006 in a bid to choke off funding for Pyongyang’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

‘The DPRK (North Korea) continues to circumvent the U.N. prohibition on the exportation of coal, a key revenue generator that helps fund its weapons of mass destruction programs,’ U.S. Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.’

‘The North Korean regime often uses forced labor from prison camps in its mining industries, including coal, exploiting its own people to advance its illicit weapons programs,’ he said.

An annual report to the U.N. Security Council by independent sanctions monitors earlier this year said North Korea continued to flout council resolutions ‘through illicit maritime exports of commodities, notably coal and sand’ in 2019, earning Pyongyang hundreds of millions of dollars.

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The U.S. recent action means that any U.S. assets of those sanctioned if frozen and also means that Americans generally bars from dealing with them.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian when reacting to a question about U. S. action said China fulfilled its international obligations and opposed countries implementing unilateral sanctions against Chinese companies.

‘China will continue to firmly protect Chinese companies’ and individuals’ legitimate and legal rights and interests,’ Zhao told a daily news briefing in Beijing on Wednesday.

The blacklisted ships – Calm Bridge, Asia Bridge, Lucky Star and Star 18 – ‘loaded coal directly from North Korean ports and transported their cargo throughout the region,’ the U.S. Treasury Department said.

The shipping companies sanctioned are China-based Weihai Huijiang Trade Ltd, Always Smooth Ltd, and Good Siblings Ltd. Always Smooth and Good Siblings are also registered in Britain, the Treasury Department said.

It also designated Hong Kong-based Silver Bridge Shipping Co-HKG, Vietnam-based Thinh Cuong Co Ltd and Korea Daizin Trading Corporation, which operates in North Korea and Vietnam.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump have met three times since 2018, but failed to make progress on U.S. calls for Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons and North Korea’s demands for an end to sanctions.

 

AFRICA DAILY NEWS, NEW YORK

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