South Korean firms imported North Korean coal as Russian in violation of sanctions
This picture taken on December 14, 2012 from China's northeastern city of Dandong, looking across the border, shows a North Korean military officer (R) and a North Korea man (L) standing behind a pile of coal along the banks of the Yalu River in the northeast of the North Korean border town of Siniuju. China is North Korea's biggest trading partner by far, and most of the business passes through Dandong in northeastern China, where lorries piled high with tyres and sacks are processed at the customs post. AFP PHOTO / WANG ZHAO (Photo credit should read WANG ZHAO/AFP/Getty Images)
SEOUL, Jan 20, 2019, Yonhap. An opposition lawmaker claimed Sunday that a previously unknown shipment of North Korean coal was brought into South Korea last year in violation of U.N. sanctions, in addition to similar cases that have already been investigated, reported the Yonhap.
The shipment was brought in through the port of Pohang in February last year, but the Korea Customs Office failed to screen it out, Rep. Shim Jae-chul of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party said. Imports of North Korean coal are banned under U.N. Security Council sanctions.
The customs office launched an investigation into the shipment only after an industry tip-off in August, Shim said. The office has since determined that the coal originated from North Korea and referred the case to the prosecution on Jan. 2, he said.
The case is separate from a series of similar shipments that made headlines last year.
An investigation found that three South Korean firms imported North Korean coal on seven occasions between April and October in 2017 after forging customs documents to show the coal’s country of origin as Russia.
“It is questionable whether the government has an intention to implement sanctions,” Shim said.
The lawmaker accused the customs office of covering up the latest case.
But the office said during a parliamentary audit of the government in October that it was looking into two suspected shipments of North Korean coal since August, though it did not provide further details.
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