U. S. officials identified and gathered information about the movement of the cargo ships, which are owned or managed by Chinese companies, u…
Six ships that have been traced back to China were found by U. S. intelligence to have been assisting North Korea, violating sanctions placed on the rogue regime by the United Nations, according to a report.
U. S. officials identified and gathered information about the movement of the cargo ships, which are owned or managed by Chinese companies, using satellite imagery and other intelligence means. The evidence was presented to a United Nations sanctions committee, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.
After the U. S. presented the information to the U. N., it asked the body to formally declare a total of 10 cargo ships as sanctions violators. China pushed back on the request, but it did permit the U. N. to blacklist four ships, excluding the six vessels tracked by the U. S., that don’t have connections to Chinese companies.
According to declassified intelligence reports, photos and maps given to the U. N. and reviewed by the Journal, the ships picked up illegal cargo, primarily coal, in North Korea and either transported it to Russia and Vietnam, or transferred it to other ships while at sea.
