Prosecutors are investigating a company suspected of exporting equipment to North Korea that could be used in the manufacture of nuclear weapons, an official said yesterday.
The Yicheng Company (
If proven, the transfer would violate UN sanctions meant to punish North Korea for its nuclear programs.
But the alleged deal also underscores budding commercial ties between Taiwan and poverty-stricken, politically isolated North Korea.
The official declined to provide specifics on the filtering device but said it could be used to extract plutonium to make nuclear weapons and also to make biological and chemical weapons.
"The equipment is on the embargo list for export to North Korea, as Taiwan follows the UN Security Council's trade sanctions," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Bureau investigators have handed the case to prosecutors for further investigation and possible filing of charges, the official said.
Yicheng could not be contacted for comment. The company's telephone number is not publicly listed.
The UN Security Council imposed trade sanctions against Pyongyang in October last year after North Korea conducted its first successful nuclear test. Under the sanctions, member states must prevent North Korea from importing or exporting any material for weapons of mass destruction or ballistic missiles.
The Investigation Bureau official said Yicheng would be the third company caught illegally exporting military-related equipment to North Korea this year.
In the two other incidents, investigators found that Chenghui Co (
The latest investigation comes amid progress in international efforts to get North Korea to abandon its nuclear programs. This month Pyongyang began to disable its sole functioning nuclear reactor and a related processing facility under a deal with the US, South Korea, China, Japan and Russia.
In return, North Korea will receive the equivalent of 1 million tonnes of oil and other benefits from the five negotiating partners.
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
A 79-year-old woman died today after being struck by a train at a level crossing in Taoyuan, police said. The woman, identified by her surname Wang (王), crossed the tracks even though the barriers were down in Jhongli District’s (中壢) Neili (內壢) area, the Taoyuan Branch of the Railway Police Bureau said. Surveillance footage showed that the railway barriers were lowered when Wang entered the crossing, but why she ventured onto the track remains under investigation, the police said. Police said they received a report of an incident at 6:41am involving local train No. 2133 that was heading from Keelung to Chiayi City. Investigators
RSS