Rogue Nations

Chinese Ships Spotted Selling Oil to North Korea
By Yu Yong-weon, Kim Jin-myung

U.S. reconnaissance satellites have spotted Chinese ships selling oil to North Korean vessels on the West Sea around 30 times since October.
According to South Korean government sources, the satellites have pictured large Chinese and North Korean ships illegally trading in oil in a part of the West Sea closer to China than South Korea.
The satellite pictures even show the names of the ships. 

A government source said, "We need to focus on the fact that the illicit trade started after a UN Security Council resolution in September drastically capped North Korea's imports of refined petroleum products."
The U.S. Treasury Department placed six North Korean shipping and trading companies and 20 of their ships on sanctions list on Nov. 21, when it published spy satellite images taken on Oct. 19 showing a ship named Ryesonggang 1 connected to a Chinese vessel.

The department noted that the two ships appeared to be illegally trading in oil from ship to ship to bypass sanctions.
Ship-to-ship trade with North Korea on the high seas is forbidden in UNSC Resolution 2375 adopted in September, but such violations are nearly impossible to detect unless China aggressively cracks down on smuggling.
The problem is that any oil embargo imposed on the North in the event of further provocations will probably be futile as long as illegal smuggling continues.
It is uncertain whether the Chinese government is deliberately looking the other way, but it seems unlikely that it is unaware given the sheer volume.

Axis of Evil

South Korea seizes Han ship transferring oil to North Korea
By Jake Kwon and James Griffiths
The Lighthouse Winmore filled up with oil to take to Taiwan but never went there.

Seoul -- South Korea has seized a Hong Kong-registered ship that transferred oil to a North Korean vessel in violation of United Nations sanctions.
The South Korean Foreign Ministry said the Lighthouse Winmore left the port of Yeosu in South Korea carrying refined oil which was then transferred to a North Korean ship in international waters on October 19.
The US Treasury Department released satellite imagery in November of two ships performing an illegal ship-to-ship transfer in international waters on the same day.

Satellite imagery the US says shows a ship-to-ship transfer, possibly of oil, between two vessels in an effort to evade sanctions on North Korea.
It identified one of the ships as a sanctioned North Korean vessel, the Rye Song Gang 1, but did not name the other. 

South Korean officials could not confirm Friday if the second ship was the Lighthouse Winmore.
"UN Security Council sanctions prohibit the transfer of anything to a North Korean ship," a South Korean Foreign Ministry official told CNN, adding the Lighthouse Winmore was seized when it re-entered Yeosu on November 24.
President Trump said Beijing had been "caught red-handed," after the satellite images were republished in South Korean media earlier this week.
South Korea said the Lighthouse Winmore and its crew were still in South Korean custody and under investigation. 

There were 23 Chinese nationals and two Burmese nationals on board the ship, officials said, adding they would be permitted to leave only when the investigation was concluded.
China has denied breaching UN sanctions on North Korea.
The Lighthouse Winmore was one of 10 ships the US asked the UN to ban from international ports this month over its dealings with North Korea, according to Reuters.
That move came after the UN blacklisted four ships in October, including one that was caught smuggling 30,000 North Korean-made rocket-propelled grenades in 2016.
According to South Korea, the Lighthouse Winmore was being leased by a Taiwanese company, the Billions Bunker Group, and was en route to Taiwan when it made a ship-to-ship transfer of its oil cargo to four ships, including one North Korean ship.
"This is one of the main ways in which North Korea uses an illegal network to circumvent UN Security Council sanctions," the South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman said. 

It is customary in South Korea that officials do not give their names.
The Hong Kong government said in a statement Friday it had noted media reports that the Lighthouse Winmore had been seized. 

"We are liaising with the Korean parties concerned to obtain further information about the incident, and will take appropriate actions as necessary," the statement said.

'Very disappointed' in China
In an interview with the New York Times published Thursday, Trump claimed "oil is going into North Korea" and appeared to blame China, saying if Beijing fails to put pressure on Pyongyang then the US may take punitive economic actions against Beijing.

"China on trade has ripped off this country more than any other element of the world in history has ripped off anything," Trump said.
"If they don't help us with North Korea, then I do what I've always said I want to do. China can help us much more, and they have to help us much more."
He added: "China's hurting us very badly on trade, but I have been soft on China because the only thing more important to me than trade is war."

Trump: 'disappointed' China allowing oil into North Korea

A senior US State Department official told CNN Thursday the US is "aware that certain vessels have engaged in UN-prohibited activities, including ship-to-ship transfers of refined petroleum and the transport of coal from North Korea."
"We have evidence that some of the vessels engaged in these activities are owned by companies in several countries, including China," the official said. 

"We condemn these acts and hope that any UNSC members, including China, work more closely together to shut down smuggling activities."
Pyongyang has for years used deceptive shipping practices to help bring in revenue for the country's regime, analysts say, and the US has called for more to be done to crackdown on ships transporting goods to and from North Korea.
UN Security Council resolutions passed this year stipulate "all Member States shall prohibit the entry into their ports of such designated vessels," save for some circumstances, including in emergencies or if they are granted humanitarian exceptions by the UN.

Two-Face China

China Caught Red-Handed Selling Illegal Oil To North Korea By Spy Cameras
By Nathaniel Artosilla

North Korea's military personnel parade with a portrait of North Korea's late leader Kim Il-sung in central Pyongyang April 25, 2007.

China appears to have a soft spot for its neighbour North Korea as the country was spotted selling oil to the country in spite of sanctions levied by the United Nations. 

Images from a spy satellite revealed Chinese and North Korean vessels illicitly linking up at sea for the purpose of selling oil to the rogue state.
The images, which were published by a South Korean newspaper, led US President Donald Trump to condemn China as ship-to-ship transfers are prohibited under the UN-imposed sanctions. 

Trump added that such a move would prevent "a friendly solution" to the crisis over Pyongyang's nuclear program
"Caught red-handed," Trump wrote on Twitter. 

"Very disappointed that China is allowing oil to go into North Korea"
The revelation happens just after Trump's state visit to China which gave the impression that the US finally managed to win Beijing's support in the war of words with nuke-nut Kim whom he dubbed "Rocketman." 

This is a massive setback for US foreign policy in the region at a time world edges closer to a new world war.
China had already denied using its ships to sell oil to its neighbour. 

The imagessuggest otherwise, however, revealing that trading has been going on for three months with at least 30 shipments being delivered.
Back in September, the UN Security Council unanimously decided to impose new economic sanctions on North Korea after a recent intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test. 

The sanctions aim to further limit the country's access to refined petroleum products and crude oil by capping them at 500,000 barrels a year.
The US-drafted resolution aims to stifle as much as 90 percent of oil supplies to the hermit kingdom threatening further reductions should the North conduct another nuclear test or launch another ICBM. By illegally selling oil to the country, it gives a massive boost of confidence in their dream of wiping out the US by aiding to the communist country's nuclear missile program.