N.K. ships on sanction list pass S. Korean and Japanese waters

N.K. ships on sanction list pass S. Korean and Japanese waters. November. 29, 2016 07:10. by Soong-Ho Cho shcho@donga.com.

North Korean ships on the U.N. Security Council's sanction list were freely running in South Korean and Japanese waters.

North Korea media NK News said Saturday that Orion Star, a North Korean ship on the U.N.'s sanction list was found to have passed the waters of Ulsan around midnight of Nov. 17. The ship was identified just some kilometers from Ulsan port and was within the South Korean territorial waters. The Orion Star, belonging to North Korea's Ocean Maritime Management (OMM), was included in the sanction list based on the U.N. Security Council's 2270 resolution. While search is mandatory if a ship goes to and from North Korea, this ship avoided the sanction network and freely passed the South Korean and Japanese territorial waters for the past two weeks.

According to the Dong-A Ilbo's findings through marine service site Marine Traffic, this ship departed North Korea's Wonsan port on Oct. 10 and arrived at China's Dalian port on Monday, and was last seen in the waters of Jeju on Friday. The Orion Star had mocked the sanctions when it passed Yeosu-Jeju-Pohang waters on March 17, immediately after the 2270 resolution was adopted.

With new sanctions on North Korea imminent following the North's fifth nuclear test on Sept. 9, the passing of the banned waters shows the North's attempt to show off that sanctions don't matter to it. The new sanctions will include marine regulation strengthening. A ship can turn off the Automatic Identification System (AIS) if it wants to avoid international exposure, but the ship turned it on and leisurely passed the South Korean and Japanese waters.