World

UN Blacklists A Big Batch Of Sanctions Violators Secretly Helping North Korea

KCNA via REUTERS/File Photo

Daily Caller News Foundation logo
Ryan Pickrell China/Asia Pacific Reporter
Font Size:

The United Nations dropped the hammer Friday on companies and persons helping North Korea skirt tough international sanctions meant to punish it for its illegal weapons testing.

The U.N. blacklisted 27 ships, 21 shipping companies, and one individual for unlawfully engaging North Korea. The move will ban blacklisted ships from ports around the world and freeze the assets of the companies and individuals punished by the sanctions package. The sanctions target five shipping companies in China, 15 North Korean vessels, 12 non-Korean ship, and a man from Taiwan.

The Taiwanese man — Tsang Yung Yuan — stands accused of orchestrating “North Korean coal exports with a North Korean broker operating in a third country, and he has a history of other sanctions evasion activities,” according to the U.N. statement on the matter.

“The approval of this historic sanctions package is a clear sign that the international community is united in our efforts to keep up maximum pressure on the North Korean regime,” U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said in response to this move, the largest blacklisting of companies and individuals caught illegally aiding North Korea.

Many of the entities hit by the latest U.N. sanctions were previously targeted by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, according to The New York Times.

North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un recently met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing as part of the young despot’s first trip abroad since he became the leader of North Korea. He is expected to meet South Korean President Moon Jae-in soon, and then a meeting with President Donald Trump is possible after that meeting.

While Trump has said that he is looking forward to the meeting, he has made it clear that the maximum pressure campaign will continue until North Korea takes concrete steps toward denuclearization.

Follow Ryan on Twitter

Send tips to ryan@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.