U.S. Slaps Sanctions on Russian Shipping Firms Over North Korean Munitions

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin inspected a Soyuz rocket launch pad at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Amur Oblast, Russia, on September 13, local time./UPI·Yonhap News

The U.S. government has imposed sanctions on Russian shipping companies involved in providing North Korea with munitions and other military supplies.

The U.S. State Department included Russian companies IBEX Shipping, Asia Shipping Holdings, and Asia Shipping Company in the new sanctions against Russia on the 12th (local time). These companies were exporting North Korean military supplies to Russia.

IBEX Shipping owns three Russian-flagged cargo ships, while Asia Shipping Holdings has operated eight. The Asia Shipping Company in Vladivostok has been supplying materials to the Russian Ministry of Defense.

In addition, the State Department also sanctioned three ships with ties to IBEX Shipping: Maria, Captain Yakubovich, and Arkady Chernyshev.

North Korea announced on November 22 that the launch of its first military reconnaissance satellite, ‘Manrikyong-1’, launched the previous night, was successful. The photo shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un watching the launch./Pyongyang Korean Central News Agency=Yonhap News

South Korea and the U.S. suspect North Korea supplied military supplies to Russia after Kim Jong Un held a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Amur Oblast, Russia, on September 13. In return, Russia may have provided North Korea with advanced weapons technology, including satellite launch technology.

The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a bipartisan, nonprofit policy research organization & think tank analyzing global issues in Washington D.C., assessed North Korea’s successful third military reconnaissance satellite launch on November 21 directly resulted from Russian support.

By. Ha Man Joo