▲ North Korean trucks fill the streets of Dandong.
Circumstances have been detected indicating that China exported USD 290,000 worth of goods subject to UN Security Council sanctions against North Korea—including industrial machinery, electrical equipment, and vehicles—to North Korea between January and August of this year.
The Voice of America (VOA) reported on the 25th that an analysis of detailed data on China's exports to North Korea from the General Administration of Customs for January through August identified 32 items corresponding to HS codes (Harmonized System) prohibited by the Security Council from being supplied to North Korea.
The total export value of these items is tallied at USD 289,836 (approximately 380 billion won in Korean currency).
Through UN Security Council Resolution 2397, adopted in 2017, the Security Council prohibited the supply of industrial machinery, electrical and electronic equipment (HS codes 84 and 85), transportation vehicles (codes 86 through 89), and steel and metal products (codes 72 through 83) to North Korea.
The export items identified in the General Administration of Customs data during this period included centrifugal pumps, medical, surgical, and laboratory sterilizers, non-domestic water purification and filtration equipment, transformers, and power cables.
In particular, two four-wheel-drive vehicles were included, valued at approximately USD 128,000 and USD 65,000 respectively, with the amount for these two vehicles alone reaching roughly USD 190,000.
In the past, when pointed out regarding transactions involving embargoed goods, China has explained that these items were humanitarian supplies for international relief organizations.
VOA explained that because a separate sanctions exemption procedure is operated for goods intended for humanitarian assistance in accordance with Security Council resolutions, it is possible that the items whose exports were confirmed this time also received official sanctions exemption measures.
However, VOA added that most of these items are marked as "general trade" in the Chinese General Administration of Customs data, while items categorized under "intergovernmental or international organization relief or donations" are classified separately.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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