Reports finds that Yongbyon nuclear complex still in operation

SEOUL, Mar 17, 2019, Hankyoreh. A new report finds that the Yongbyon nuclear complex is still running after the second North Korea-US summit ended without an agreement. North Korea’s illegal imports of petroleum and exports of coal through ship-to-ship transfers rapidly increased last year, and there are indications that sanctions on North Korea have been violated by some 30 countries, including China, Iran, Syria and Libya, reported the Hankyoreh.

Released on Mar. 12, the report by a panel of experts working for the UN Security Council Sanctions Committee on North Korea said that the Yongbyon nuclear complex remains in operation. According to the report, Yongbyon’s 5MWe reactor was shut down in September and October of last year, perhaps to allow the removal of spent fuel rods. The report also cited satellite imagery as evidence of the possibility that the radiochemical laboratory, a reprocessing facility, is also in operation.

The bulk of the report was dedicated to ship-to-ship transfers on the open seas, which it cited as a North Korea’s method of dodging the sanctions dragnet. The report said that the scale, volume and techniques of such transfers had all evolved and that 50 ships and some 160 companies were being investigated. Some member states alleged that North Korea had exceeded the cap on imports of refined oil products, which UN resolutions have set at 500,000 barrels a year, but the expert panel said it had failed to secure evidence of that.

The Panel’s investigation found that beginning on at least 22 May 2018 in the East China Sea, the Yuk Tung engaged in vessel “spoofing”, falsely transmitting its identity via its AIS as a supposedly Panama-flagged vessel named Maika using IMO number 9033969, as well as altering its course and destination. At the same time, the vessel legally authorized and registered with IMO number 9033969, the Comoros-flagged Hika, remained anchored off Lome, in the Gulf of Guinea, more than 7,000 miles away.

The report also said that some ships had been sending false signals on their automatic identification system (AIS) to facilitate illegal transfers and registering multiple nationalities and forging documents to evade sanctions. China’s messaging service WeChat had also been accessed and used for such ends, the report said. The report said that the illegally transferred oil products were entering North Korea through the port of Nampo, which it described as the hub of suspicious and illegal activities.

In addition, the report released the results of an investigation into evidence that some 30 countries had violated UN Security Council resolutions. Algeria and Cambodia were investigated in connection with the Mansudae Overseas Project Group of Companies; the Democratic Republic of the Congo for violating sanctions by working North Korea’s gold mines; and Iran, Libya, Myanmar and Syria for military cooperation with the North. Ten countries also came under scrutiny for establishing and maintaining joint ventures with North Korea, which is forbidden by UN Security Council resolutions.

Another topic that appeared in the report was the luxury products that are banned from being exported to North Korea, such as the Rolls Royce Phantom, Mercedes Benz limousine and Lexus LX 570 four-wheel drive model. Those were the vehicles used by South Korean President Moon Jae-in and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo when they visited Pyongyang.

By Kim Ji-eun, staff reporter