South Korea's government has decided to impose unilateral sanctions on a non-flagged vessel seized in its waters for illegally transporting North Korean-produced iron ore, as well as on the Chinese nationals operating the ship and a Russian firm that ordered the cargo.
These sanctions came about 10 months after the South Korean government intercepted and inspected a ship last June as it transited through its territorial waters en route to China’s Jingjiang Port, a senior Foreign Ministry official said Thursday on condition of anonymity.
The inspection followed Seoul's receipt of intelligence from a third partner country indicating that the ship was involved in violating UN Security Council resolutions on North Korea, the official added.
The Sunrise 1 is a stateless vessel operated by Xiangrui Shipping, a Hong Kong-based shipping company. The ship changed its name from Gain Star to Sunrise 1 in May last year, just before carrying North Korea-produced iron ore, according to a joint press release by the Foreign Ministry, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Financial Services Commission and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.
Changing the names of vessels is a frequent tactic employed by ships to evade sanctions on North Korea.
A joint government investigation involving the Foreign Ministry, the National Intelligence Service, the Korea Coast Guard and the Korea Customs Service found that the ship was implicated in violating UN Security Council Resolution 2371, which strictly prohibits the transfer of North Korean iron ore.
North Korea has large reserves of iron ore, exports of which had long served as a key source of hard currency.
The Sunrise 1 entered North Korea’s Chongjin Port between June 14 and 17 last year, where it loaded 5,020 metric tons of North Korean-produced iron ore, according to the outcome of the joint investigation.
Chinese nationals Sun Zhengzhe and Sun Feng operated Xiangrui Shipping Co. Ltd., which chartered the vessel. Russian firm LLC Consul DV was the consignee of the iron ore cargo on Sunrise 1, according to the South Korean government.
The South Korean government has designated Sunrise 1, Xiangrui Shipping, LLC Consul DV, Sun Zhengzhe and Sun Feng as targets of unilateral sanctions, which will take effect within a week. The vessel, which has been currently under detention in South Korean territorial waters, has been ordered to leave the country.
Seoul underscored that the designation is assessed as having contributed to deterring similar illicit actions and disrupting North Korea’s illicit financing and procurement networks.
The senior Foreign Ministry official explained that Xiangrui Shipping and LLC Consul DV have "suffered significant financial losses," with the vessel Sunrise 1 having been detained for over nine months.
"The designation as targets of unilateral sanctions has also led to ensuing substantive and significant burdens, including reputational damage within the industry as entities implicated in illegal activity," the official said.
"The measure, thereby, has dealt a tangible economic blow to those complicit in violating UN Security Council sanctions on North Korea, while sending a strong message that such illicit activities will not be tolerated."
dagyumji@heraldcorp.com
