2024.07.19. The Fair Economy — The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on the 18th that it would designate the Hong Kong-based shipping company HK Yilin Shipping Co Ltd, which violated UN Security Council sanctions against North Korea, and the North Korean-flagged vessel Deokseong (TOK SONG), as unilateral sanctions targets on the 19th.
HK Yilin Shipping Co Ltd is a company that owns the stateless vessel De Yi (DE YI), and the South Korean government has been investigating allegations of the vessel's involvement in violations of UN Security Council sanctions against North Korea since late March.
The joint government investigation concluded that the De Yi vessel received and transported North Korean coal from the North Korean-flagged vessel Deokseong in the waters off Nampo, North Korea, in March. Accordingly, detention measures have been imposed on the De Yi vessel, and HK Yilin Shipping Co Ltd and Deokseong have been designated as unilateral sanctions targets.
Paragraph 11 of UN Security Council Resolution 2375 (2017) prohibits ship-to-ship transfers with North Korean vessels, and paragraph 8 of Resolution 2371 (2017) prohibits the export of North Korean coal. The Tok Song is a secondhand vessel brought into North Korea in late March last year, and paragraph 14 of Resolution 2397 (2017) prohibits the supply of secondhand vessels to North Korea.
Financial transactions and foreign exchange transactions with HK Yilin Shipping Co Ltd, designated as a unilateral sanctions target this time, require prior approval from either the Financial Services Commission or the Governor of the Bank of Korea under Article 4 of the Act on the Prohibition of Financing Activities for Threats and the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction and Article 15 of the Foreign Exchange Transaction Act, as well as Article 29 of the Enforcement Decree of the same Act. Transactions without such approval may be subject to penalties under the relevant laws.
In addition, the Tok Song is classified as a vessel requiring special management for entry into trade ports if deemed necessary for national security by the head of a national security agency, under Article 4 of the Vessel Entry and Exit Act and Article 3 of its enforcement decree. The vessel may only enter port with permission from the relevant administrative authority.
North Korea has continuously procured materials and funds needed for its nuclear and missile development programs through various illegal acts to evade UN Security Council sanctions, such as transshipment between vessels at sea and trade in embargoed goods.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, "This measure demonstrates the government's strong commitment to block North Korea's illegal maritime activities and deter its illicit nuclear and missile development. Going forward, the ministry will continue to enforce strong and consistent legal actions against vessels and shipping companies involved in prohibited goods transport and violations of UN Security Council sanctions, and will closely coordinate with allied nations in this process."
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