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By Hugh Cameron
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South Korea has intercepted a ship carrying Russian freight via North Korea to China, according to the South Korean government.
The 2,900-ton freighter was seized by the Seoul authorities on Thursday, somewhere in the Korea Strait between South Korea and Japan. The voyage may represent an attempt by the heavily sanctioned state to bypass limitations on its trade with other nations, which one expert told Newsweek will only continue following a meeting between Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un earlier this week.
According to Yonhap, a Seoul-based news agency, the ship was seized on suspicion of violating U.N. Security Council sanctions against North Korea, and is currently anchored at the port of Busan in the south of the country with the ten-person crew still onboard.
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The ship was allegedly carrying iron ore and coal to China from Russia when it was seized, though the exact nationality of the boat remains unclear.
"In relation to the vessel's suspected violation of UNSC sanctions, relevant government agencies are taking necessary steps in line with the international and domestic laws," the South Korean Foreign Ministry told Yonhap, which was unable to confirm which sanctions the voyage allegedly contravened.
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Dr Edward Howell, a lecturer in politics at the University of Oxford whose research focuses on North Korean foreign policy, told Newsweek that the captured vessel would likely be violating Security Council Resolutions 1718 and 2397.
This former, imposed on the country in 2006, "encouraged U.N. member states to inspect all cargo shipments going to and from North Korea," Howell said, while the latter "banned the smuggling of iron ore and coal into and out of the DPRK."
Howell added that the illicit transfer of coal and iron ore has also been covered by EU sanctions introduced in March 2016, as well as some imposed independently by the U.S. in 2019.
A similar incident was recorded in March, when South Korean authorities said they were investigating an unflagged freighter that had been seized while allegedly transporting cargo from China to Russia.
The ship was believed to have been in North Korea's Namo Port, before traveling to China. At the time of its detention, the ship reported Vladivostok as its target destination. The South Korean coastguard subsequently redirected the ship to the anchorage at Busan on March 30, before an investigation was launched into alleged sanctions breaches.
Numerous sanctions have been levied against North Korea by the UNSC since 2006, primarily in response to the nation's nuclear weapons program. These prohibit the export of electrical equipment, coal, and various foodstuffs to the country, while capping the import of oil and refined petroleum products, among other things.
However, North Korea has made continued attempts to bypass these limitations with the assistance of China and Russia.
"We cannot ignore the role of China and Russia," Howell said. "China has been complicit in ship-to-ship transfers of coal out of North Korea, and Russia has now been found to be providing North Korea with a direct supply of oil."
Howell said that this cooperation is set to persist, particularly from Russia following Putin's visit to Pyongyang earlier in the week.
"These efforts are likely to continue, particularly on the part of Russia, given Putin's recent visit to North Korea, thereby rendering the U.N. Security Council utterly impotent and toothless in constraining both North Korea's sanctions-violating behavior, but also the actions of its permanent members, China and Russia," Howell said.
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The latest seizure comes after footage emerged of Houthi rebels attacking a ship loaded with Russian cargo in the Red Sea southwest of Al Hudaydah, Yemen.
The merchant ship was struck on June 12, prompting the evacuation of the crew with the help of the French Navy. Unable, to remain afloat due to the damage of the strike, the ship sank by June 16, according to an announcement by the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations.
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