The U.S. government has pulled out a tougher sanctions card against ships that blatantly violated United Nations Security Council resolutions. The targets are seven third-country ships that illegally exported North Korean coal and iron ore, serving as a cash pipeline for the Kim Jong-un regime.
Reuters reported on the 3rd, citing a senior U.S. State Department official who requested anonymity, that "the United States will formally request sanctions on seven ships from the U.N. Security Council's North Korea Sanctions Committee within days."
These ships are suspected of transporting North Korean coal and iron ore, which were completely banned from export under sanctions resolutions adopted after the first nuclear test, to China and elsewhere. The North Korean regime has traditionally been estimated to earn $200 million to $400 million (about 260 billion won to 520 billion won) annually through such illegal mineral exports. This money is known to have been used mainly as a funding source for nuclear and missile programs.
A U.S. State Department official also disclosed specific methods of export sanctions violations. According to the official, in May and June, North Korean ships including the Sinpyeong 6 transferred coal on the high seas to the Sierra Leone-flagged Fly Free. This is a typical ship-to-ship transfer method to evade U.N. monitoring. The coal was then transported to China's Weifang Port and unloaded.
The official added that in January this year, additional cases were detected in which North Korean coal and iron ore were unloaded at Chinese ports using third-country ships.
The United States plans to request sanctions from the U.N. Security Council's "1718 Committee." Established under Security Council Resolution 1718 in 2006, the body is composed of all 15 Security Council member states. It plays a key role in overseeing the implementation of sanctions on North Korea, investigating violations, and designating sanctions targets.
However, Reuters reported that to finalize the process, the committee must make a unanimous decision. First, the sanctions proposal is officially circulated in the committee, and it is adopted only if no member state objects within five days.
If even a single country voices opposition, the sanctions are immediately derailed. Alternatively, a specific member state may place a "hold," citing the need for further review. This "hold" can last up to nine months. It is effectively a tool that can sink the sanctions.
Permanent members of the Security Council include China and Russia, which have recently shown overtly close ties with North Korea. In diplomatic circles, the view is that these two countries are unlikely to readily agree to the sanctions proposal. If they object, it will be practically difficult for the United States to push the sanctions forward.
If the seven ships are ultimately designated as sanctions targets, they could be denied entry or detained at ports worldwide. Related shipping companies and individuals would also face disadvantages such as asset freezes and travel bans.
The sanctions move is seen as a warning to North Korea, which is refusing not only denuclearization talks but even related dialogue.
In diplomatic circles, the analysis is that the United States judged it cannot bring North Korea back to the negotiating table with only a carrot and shifted to a strategy that pairs pressure. The strategy is to keep the door to dialogue open while cutting off illegal foreign-currency earning channels one by one to make it impossible for North Korea to hold out.