From South Korean news agency Chosunilbo:
Chinese Ships Spotted Selling Oil to N.Korea
U.S. reconnaissance satellites have spotted Chinese ships selling oil to North Korean vessels on the West Sea around 30 times since October.
According to South Korean government sources, the satellites have pictured large Chinese and North Korean ships illegally trading in oil in a part of the West Sea closer to China than South Korea.
The satellite pictures even show the names of the ships. A government source said, "We need to focus on the fact that the illicit trade started after a UN Security Council resolution in September drastically capped North Korea's imports of refined petroleum products."
And yes, it is illegal:
Ship-to-ship trade with North Korea on the high seas is forbidden in UNSC Resolution 2375 adopted in September, but such violations are nearly impossible to detect unless China aggressively cracks down on smuggling.
Reading the names of the ships? I would love to know the true capacity of these cameras...
Anyway, now the world knows and the pressure against China and North Korea has been ratcheted up a bit more.
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