Smuggling and front companies are just two of the methods Pyongyang uses to get around embargoes to pursue its nuclear weapons programme, according to UN and US reports
The United Nations recently passed its strongest sanctions yet against North Korea following its sixth nuclear test. But critics have expressed doubts as to whether the sanctions would stop Pyongyang from developing nuclear weapons and if the measures would be effectively enforced.
The US government and a UN experts panel have published reports on how North Korea evades sanctions to earn the hard currency it needs.
Here are eight of the methods used:
1. Swapping goods
North Korea directly exchanges its coal and other minerals for the goods it needs, such as weapons components and even luxury items. This avoids the risk of money transfers being traced.
A resolution passed by the UN Security Council last November set a cap on North Korea’s coal exports, which generate a significant share of the country’s revenue.
Another resolution passed last month banned the coal trade with North Korea, but bulk purchases of the fuel continue.
Chinese businessman Chi Yupeng allegedly used his company Dandong Zhicheng Metallic Materials to buy steel and anthracite coal from North Korea in exchange for nuclear and missile components, according to the US Treasury department.
US demands China take ‘direct action’ after North Korea fires another missile over Japan
2. Smuggling
Smugglers from other countries such as China turn off their ships’ transponders when entering North Korean waters, then take North Korean goods to another country, including Russia. They then claim the goods were made in Russia.
Chinese ships loaded with North Korean coal either stay in a Russian port for some time and then return to China, or another vessel picks up the goods and ships them, Assistant Treasury Secretary for Terrorist Financing Marshall Billingslea told a hearing of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee last week.
3. Falsifying shipping registration documents
North Korea has registered an unusually large number of ships, including many foreign-owned vessels, as part of its domestic fleet. It also listed 18 of the 21 vessels in its Ocean Maritime Management Company as domestic ships, even though some enter international waters.
