Tokyo Briefs UN On 2 Suspected Ship-to-Ship Oil Transfers Involving North Korea - Reports

The Japanese Foreign Ministry announced on Thursday that it had briefed the UN Security Council about two suspected ship-to-ship transfers of oil, in which a North Korean tanker had been involved, local media reported

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th April, 2019) The Japanese Foreign Ministry announced on Thursday that it had briefed the UN Security Council about two suspected ship-to-ship transfers of oil, in which a North Korean tanker had been involved, local media reported.

According to the NHK broadcaster, both cases happened on March 20. A ship of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force spotted in the morning a North-Korean-flagged vessel around 400 kilometers (248.5 miles) south of China's Shanghai. The ship was connected by a hose to a small vessel. While the nationality of the vessel is unknown, it had a "Qinhuangdao" inscription on it, which is the name of a northeastern Chinese port city. In the late hours of the same day, the same North Korean tanker was spotted behind a vessel of unknown nationality, possibly not the same one that was seen in the morning.

The Japanese Foreign Ministry has reportedly notified the Chinese government that Tokyo is closely watching the situation.

These two cases bring to 14 the total number of suspected ship-to-ship oil transfers involving North Korea that Tokyo has already reported to the UN Security Council.

North Korea has been subject to numerous UN sanctions over the past 10 years for its nuclear and ballistic missile tests. The sanctions aim at reducing the country's ability to develop its nuclear and missile programs and include a UN Security Council's resolution that bans ship-to-ship transfers of refined petroleum products to North Korea.