Topic

North Korea sanctionsi

On August 6, 2017, the United Nations Security Council imposed sanctions on North Korea that could see the reclusive state's US$3 billion annual export revenue drop by a third. The sanctions, which banned North Korean exports of coal, iron, iron ore, lead, lead ore and seafood, were aimed at punishing Pyongyang over its two intercontinential ballistic missile tests. Countries were also prohibited from hiring additional North Korean labourers. 

Advertisement
  • In video-link meeting with US representative Jung Pak, Chinese envoy Liu Xiaoming says stable peninsula is in the interests of the region and the world
  • But Beijing insists lack of trust between Washington and Pyongyang is the ‘crux’ of the issue and US should take responsibility
videocam

Jin Guanghua is accused of committing bank fraud in an illegal scheme by North Korea to generate revenue through the purchase and sale of tobacco.

videocam

The two pariah states have been forging closer ties in recent months amid Russia’s war in Ukraine and Pyongyang’s continued nuclear weapons development. UN Security Council resolutions ban the export of luxury goods to North Korea.

Advertisement
Advertisement

Dialogue between North and South Korea has given way to fiery rhetoric and mutual threats of destruction. Neither side seems inclined to de-escalate, as the spectre of a second Trump presidency only adds to mounting concerns.

videocam

Reuters spoke to 20 people, including 15 in the eyelash industry, who described a system in which China-based firms import semi-finished products from Kim Jong-un’s closed-off nation, giving it vital currency.

videocam

Workers at a North Korea-run factory in China were said to have staged a deadly protest after learning their back pay had been transferred back to the regime.

videocam

Two new-generation Pulhwasal-3-31 missiles ‘flew in the sky above the East Sea … to hit the island target’, state media reported on Monday, adding that Kim had ‘guided’ the launch.

videocam

Communist Party diplomatic chief Liu Jianchao pledges to increase strategic communications in meeting with North Korean envoy as Pyongyang announces test of nuclear-capable underwater attack drone in response to US-Japan-South Korea military drills.

videocam

The North’s bid to enshrine its own sea border and codify a commitment to invade the South shows ties ‘have reached an almost irreparable breakdown’.

videocam

The missile could neutralise South Korea’s missile defence system and threaten US strategic assets such as its aircraft-carrier striker groups in the West Pacific, analysts say.

videocam

Solid-fuel missiles do not need to be fuelled immediately ahead of launch, are often easier and safer to operate, and require less logistical support, making them harder to detect and more survivable than liquid-fuel weapons.

videocam

The Japanese government was taken aback by Kim Jong-un’s surprise sympathy message after the deadly New Year’s Day quake. Analysts say there’s more than just commiseration at play.

‘There is no longer any disguise … the Russian Federation for the first time struck at ... Ukraine with missiles received from … North Korea,’ a senior Kyiv official said.

North Korea watchers also say Kim’s statements were a veiled threat towards Seoul, amid Pyongyang’s plan to launch three more spy satellites into space in 2024.

videocam

Leader Kim Jong-un slams US policy for making war a ‘realistic reality’ and says he has ordered the military to prepare to ‘pacify the entire territory of South Korea’.

videocam

Kim Jong-un ordered the munitions industry and nuclear weapons sector to accelerate war preparations to counter what he called unprecedented confrontational moves by the US, state media reported.

videocam

Pyongyang historically only negotiates when it feels weak, analysts say – but that isn’t the case currently with two of the five UN Security Council members on its side.

videocam

Monday’s launch was the third time the North had tested a solid-fuel ICBM, after launches in April and July, which analysts said signalled consistent efforts to improve the technology.

videocam

Japanese police raided a used-car showroom in Chiba recently on suspicion it had attempted to transfer a US$68,000 Lexus to North Korea, according to reports.

videocam

Sources say ambassador Han Tae-song may have been involved in the illegal trade of elephant tusks and rhino horns through deals in four African countries.