North Korea has been smuggling banned materials that could be used for rocket and missile launches, often using forged documents to disguise their destination, a newspaper reported yesterday.
South Korea has secured evidence that materials related to the weapons of mass destruction were exported to the North through China and other countries, Munhwa Ilbo newspaper reported, quoting unnamed government officials.
“North Korea has smuggled commodities related to weapons of mass destruction banned by the international community and luxury goods through detour routes such as China, Japan, Mongolia and Russia,” it said.
Illegal methods used by the cash-strapped country to evade sanctions have become more creative than before, the newspaper said.
South Korean officials refused to confirm the report.
UN resolutions adopted after the North’s missile and nuclear tests last year ban transactions linked to its nuclear and atomic activities and the supply of luxury goods to Pyongyang.
The US has announced new sanctions on the North to punish it for the sinking of a South Korean warship in March with the loss of 46 lives, and to push it to scrap its nuclear weapons program.
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