How China allows North Korean arms traffickers and money launderers to evade international sanctions

A network of North Korean money laundering and arms laundering program providersand operates in China with the tacit consent of the Chinese authoritiesaccording to a senior US State Department official.

“China should have expelled these representatives years ago, in accordance with United Nations Security Council resolutions, ”said Alex Wong, Deputy Secretary of State for North Korea at the Office of East Asia and Pacific Affairs on Tuesday. “But he didn’t. And not because the Chinese government isn’t aware of it. The United States has provided China with extensive information on UN-banned activities taking place within its borders. But Beijing has chosen not to act, “he added.

This is just another example of China’s refusal to comply with international sanctions against the pariah state, Wong pointed out. Chinese officials allow a wide range of operations to evade sanctions, from hundreds of illegal shipments of coal, traffic that flows too publicly to justify the name of smuggling, to the continued employment of North Korean workers, reflecting a model of Beijing “seeking to undo the UN sanctions regime” against North Korea.

“The examples of this chronic failure are numerous, growing and troubling,” Wong said when asked by the prestigious Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

China has long isolated North Korea from the explosion of international sanctions, but President Donald Trump’s apparent willingness to approve a military strike against the regime’s nuclear weapons program spurred a temporary tightening of sanctions enforcement in 2017. China eased that enforcement after Trump agreed to meet with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un in 2018 as the summit planning process reduced the threat of the use of force .

“I have spoken to enough Chinese diplomats to understand clearly what course of action the Chinese government is supporting,” Wong said. “They are trying to reactivate trade ties and income transfers to the North, thus ensuring that the Chinese reach the economy of the North. And they are pursuing all this without the North Koreans engaging in serious and substantive negotiations, without an agreed roadmap, and without North Korea still taking concrete steps towards denuclearization. “

Some of these ties have already been renewed despite China’s legal obligation to sever them. American observers They documented 555 separate cases of “ships carrying UN banned coal or other unauthorized goods from North Korea to China”, 400 of which involve ships flying the North Korean flag in Chinese waters, practically “ringing the bell and literally announcing” to their guests.

“There is no excuse for escapes from Beijing,” Wong said. “It has the resources to meet UN sanctions obligations in its coastal waters. But again, choose not to. “

North Korea surprised US allies by unveiling an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in October as part of a series of new weapon systems.

“The sanctions are working well enough to induce the North Koreans to do their best to avoid them.”William Newcomb, visiting scholar from the Korea-USA Institute, said as Wang concluded his presentation. Newcomb is a former US government economist who has been monitoring the North Korean economy.

“The other unfortunate conclusion is this sanctions have failed to stop any progress on weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs. And we saw good proof of that at the recent parade [de armas en Pyongyang]However, these advances could not completely hide the country’s economic struggles, which were exacerbated last year by the Kim regime’s decision to fight the spread of the coronavirus pandemic through a self-imposed blockade by the country itself. North Korean Armed Forces, “added Newcomb.

“This substantial business impact is likely to lead to an accelerated decline in national income that will be difficult to reverse in the short term.. You will have a cascading shortage across the economy and this, in itself, will lead to disruption of supply lines. “, Concluded the economist.

China’s economic support for North Korea undermines Western attempts to capitalize on this economic weakness, but Wong promised that the United States would look for ways to do it tighten sanctions against the regime in order to get the leverage to lobby Kim to dismantle his nuclear arsenal.

Wong assured that the United States will continue to impose sanctions on any person or entity that agrees to evade sanctions, including individuals and entities within Chinese jurisdiction.

“These actions to enforce sanctions and the continued compliance efforts of our partners around the world are difficult. But make no mistake. They are vital to our ultimate goal of peace, “concluded Wong.

Keep reading: