North Korea continues to employ tactics to evade UN sanctions, State Department spokeswoman says
The U. S. State Department said Saturday that Washington would not wait to impose sanctions on any shippers helping to get fuel to North Korea, in
an apparent warning to Russia days after the U. S. ambassador to the United Nations accused Moscow of cheating on the measures.
North Korea continues to employ tactics to evade U. N. sanctions, Heather Nauert, the State Department spokeswoman, said in a statement, adding that U. N. member states are required to prohibit ship-to-ship transfers of petroleum fuel to the country.
“The United States will not hesitate to impose sanctions on any individual, entity or vessel supporting North Korea’s illicit activities, regardless of nationality,” Nauert said.
The 15-member U. N. Security Council has unanimously boosted sanctions on North Korea since 2006 in a bid to choke off funding for Pyongyang’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
But the United States and Russia have recently shown cracks in the unity of the council over the sanctions.
Washington has “evidence of consistent and wide-ranging Russian violations” of the sanctions, U.
