US praises international efforts to stem North Korea’s illegal shipping practices

The U.S. Treasury said Saturday that international efforts to enforce U.N. sanctions against North Korea are effective, but North Korea continues attempts to circumvent them.

The United States welcomed, in the statement, the coordination on international efforts to stop North Korea’s illicit shipping activities, including the prohibited ship-to-ship transfers of any goods or items to or from North Korean vessels.

The United States applauded recent announcements from Japan, Australia and New Zealand regarding monitoring and surveillance activities to detect UN-prohibited illicit North Korean maritime activities, and their particular focus on detecting and disrupting ship-to-ship transfers of refined petroleum to North Korean tankers in the East China Sea.

“We are pleased that this coordinated, multinational initiative includes these countries, along with Canada, France, and the United Kingdom. As part of this effort, we are sharing information and coordinating efforts to ensure that UN Security Council Resolutions are implemented fully and effectively,” Treasury said in its statement. “In support of this initiative, the United States has deployed aircraft and surface vessels to detect and disrupt these activities.”

North Korea continues to regularly employ deceptive tactics to evade UN sanctions. Accordingly, UN Member States are required to prohibit persons or entities subject to their jurisdiction from engaging in ship-to-ship transfers of refined petroleum. In addition, the United States will not hesitate to impose sanctions on any individual, entity, or vessel supporting North Korea’s illicit activities, regardless of nationality.

North Korea has been caught performing ship-to-ship transfers, falsifying cargo manifests, altering vessel documentation, disabling Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) and manipulating AIS all to evade international sanctions, but the U.S. and her allies remain undeterred.

“The United States and international partners remain committed to achieving the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea and believe the full enforcement of North Korean-related UN Security Council Resolutions is crucial to a successful outcome,” the statement read. “The international community must continue to enforce and implement UN Security Council Resolutions until North Korea denuclearizes.”