North Korea and Iran last year resumed cooperation on the development of long-range missiles, a UN report says, also confirming that Pyongyang continues to contravene various nuclear resolutions.
The annual report, produced by an independent panel of UN experts, was submitted to the UN Security Council on Monday.
It says that Tehran denies any such missile cooperation with North Korea, but that, according to an unnamed member state, North Korea and Iran “have resumed cooperation on long-range missile development projects.”
“This resumed cooperation is said to have included the transfer of critical parts, with the most recent shipment associated with this relationship taking place in 2020,” the report says.
The report’s experts monitor the multiple sanctions imposed on Pyongyang to attempt to force it to suspend its nuclear and ballistic weapons programs.
In a reply in Dec. 21 last year, Iran said that the “preliminary review of the information provided to us by the [experts] indicates that false information and fabricated data might have been used in investigations and analyses.”
In their assessment of North Korea, the experts say that Pyongyang “maintained and developed its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, in contravention of UN Security Council resolutions.”
Pyongyang last year announced preparation for testing and production of new ballistic missile warheads, and development of tactical nuclear weapons.
“It produced fissile material, maintained nuclear facilities and upgraded its ballistic missile infrastructure. It continued to seek material and technology for these programs from overseas,” the report says.
The experts also investigated cases in which North Korea acquired ships, sold fishing rights and continued to export coal in contravention of sanctions.
However, North Korea’s border closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic might have hampered those shipments.
The experts found that North Korea continued to import more refined petroleum than is allowed under its barrel limit, sometimes by using “elaborate subterfuge.”
“According to imagery, data and calculations received from a member state covering the period Jan. 1 to Sept. 30, 2020, these illicit shipments exceeded the annual aggregate 500,000 barrel cap by several times,” the report says.
Last year, like the year before, the US presented satellite imagery and data to show that North Korea was surpassing its quotas.
China and Russia, North Korea’s main supporters, have rejected the US claims, saying that petroleum imports are much smaller.
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