N. Korea continues advancing missile programs, preparation for nuclear test: U.N. panel

By Byun Duk-kun

WASHINGTON, Oct. 7 (Yonhap) -- North Korea continued to advance its missile programs in the first half of the year while also preparing for a possible nuclear test, the U.N. Panel of Experts on U.N. Security Council sanctions against North Korea said Friday.

The panel also noted the North may be using its students studying abroad to obtain and transfer weapons-related technology back to the reclusive nation.

"During the reporting period, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea made preparations at its nuclear test site, although it did not test a nuclear device," the panel said in its biennial report on the implementation of U.N. Security Council sanctions on North Korea.

The latest report covers the period of six months from late January.

The panel of experts had reported in March the North may have begun repairing its main nuclear test site at Punggye-ri in possible preparation for a nuclear test.

South Korea and the U.S. have since noted the country may have completed "all preparations" for a nuclear test, which will be its seventh if conducted.

"The Democratic People's Republic of Korea has reopened its nuclear test infrastructure, including the test tunnel and supporting buildings (see figures I–III), which were demolished in May 2018," the report said, referring to North Korea by its official name.

Pyongyang had dismantled the Punggye-ri site in 2018 to show its willingness to denuclearize.

North Korea also continued to advance its missile capabilities, launching 31 missiles over the cited period, according to the report.

"The ballistic missile (BM) program has continued to accelerate since the beginning of 2022, attaining an unprecedented intensity, diversity and operational capability in terms of both the BM tests themselves and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's communication strategy about them," it said.

"The two most important recent developments, also emphasized by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, are the rapid and observable acceleration of the ICBM program and a claimed new involvement of the short-range ballistic missile program in the development of tactical nuclear operational capabilities," it added.

The report suggested such a rapid advancement of the North's missile program may have partly been possible because of the "intangible transfer of technology involving scientists of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in particular fields of activity."

"A Member State informed the Panel that there were students from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea studying abroad who send information back to the country by order of military organizations and governmental departments responsible for science, technology and the economy," it added.

The panel noted the North may be continuing to violate the U.N.-imposed cap on oil imports, which stands at 500,000 barrels per year, by being engaged in illegal "ship-to-ship transfers" of petroleum products.

It also said some of the illicit ship-to-ship transfers may be taking part in areas close to the North Korean port of Nampo in North Korean waters, noting satellite imagery provided by a U.N. member state showed North Korean tankers returning frequently to Nampo to unload cargo.

"The Panel assesses that not all Democratic People's Republic of Korea tankers are forced into coronavirus disease (COVID-19)-related quarantine, and that ship-to-ship transfers to obtain the products may be taking place close to Nampo," the report said.

"The Panel notes that such cargo ship transfers in territorial waters of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea are a new sanctions evasion methodology, possibly in response to a number of factors, such as the need to avoid monitoring assets, the enforcement of COVID-19 regulations and vessel quarantine measures and the inability of many of the country's cargo vessels to enter foreign ports," it added.

Earlier in the day, the U.S. Department of Treasury imposed sanctions on two individuals -- one Singaporean and one Taiwanese -- and three entities owned or controlled by those individuals for being engaged in illicit ship-to-ship transfers of petroleum with North Korea.

bdk@yna.co.kr
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