North Korea develops measures to bypass UN sanctions - UN report

SEOUL, March 11 (Itar-Tass) - North Korea has developed the scope of measures bypassing U.N. sanctions. Pyongyang may use its foreign diplomatic offices for illegal deals on purchases of weapons, British news agency Reuters reported on Tuesday with the reference to a report of this world organisation. For instance, the U.N. report noted that North Korean embassies in Cuba and Singapore could have participated in supplies of fighters and parts of missiles in North Korea. To meet our financial liabilities under these agreements authors of the document affirm that Pyongyang may use sophisticated financial schemes for purchases of foreign weapons that will complicate much U.N. control over observance of sanctions against that country. Notably, in July 2013 a North Korean ship was detained for an attempt to deliver an undeclared batch of weapons from Cuba through the Panama Canal. Then Panamanian authorities asked the U.N. that experts of that global organisation would make a detailed inspection of the ship to find whether the U.N. Security Council resolutions were violated in this case that ban to export any weapons to North Korea and import them from the country. On March 7, 2013, the U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution that toughens sanctions against North Korea in retaliation to a nuclear weapon test conducted in the country. Sanctions envisaged in the document seek to curb illegal activity of North Korean diplomats and banks which were banned to open their offices in other countries since then. Notably, U.N states committed to block all financial flows which can promote nuclear or missile programmes in North Korea. The resolution focused on a ban for big sums of cash to be shipped across the border as this issue was particularly topical, according to diplomats, because North Korean diplomats practiced shipping of money across the border more and more frequently. The resolution also noted the need to toughen control over cargoes related to North Korea that should have been checked compulsorily if reliable information was obtained that they contained banned materials and equipment the list of which was enlarged. According to authors of the resolution, all these measures should make North Korea abandon development of nuclear weapons and missiles and should launch rapprochement with the world community.