UN Security Council says N. Korea continuing to improve nuclear and missile programs

Posted on : 2019-09-09 17:27 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
Sanctions committee releases assessment analyzing various facilities on Sept. 5
Part of a UN Security Council Sanctions Committee assessment on North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs released on Sept. 5.
Part of a UN Security Council Sanctions Committee assessment on North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs released on Sept. 5.

North Korea is continuing to improve its nuclear and missile programs even after halting its nuclear and ICBM testing in late 2017, the UN Security Council Sanctions Committee on North Korea said in an assessment released on Sept. 5.

The committee also released an analysis concluding that North Korea seized up to US$2 billion through cyber hacking cryptocurrency exchanges and other sites.

The Sanctions Committee on North Korea published a semi-yearly report on Sept. 5 concerning North Korean violations of UNSC sanctions based on its own expert panel’s assessment and reports from member nations, with a focus on updated information between February and early August.

In its report, the committee said the North Korean nuclear program “continues to operate despite the absence of nuclear testing and the closure of the test site at Punggye Village.”

According to the report, light-water reactor construction efforts have continued at the Yongbyon nuclear facilities, with dredging efforts repeatedly observed nearby in the Kuryong River. At the same time, the committee said that there were no signs of the 5MW reactor at Yongbyon operating over the period from February to August, and that it had been reported that no determination could be made on whether the nuclear fuel rods used by many member nations in 5MW nuclear reactors had been transferred to a reprocessing facility. The committee further concluded that the smoother trajectory of the short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) launched by North Korea on May 4 and 9 in comparison with Scud missiles showed that its capabilities in terms of breaking through ballistic missile defense systems had improved.

Cyber hacking by North Korea was another issue receiving the committee’s attention. In its report, the committee said that North Korean cyber personnel had been acquiring necessary funds for the WMD program on orders from the Reconnaissance General Bureau, with an estimated total of US$2 billion acquired to date. The committee said it was investigating at least 35 instances of North Korean hacking against 17 countries. It also noted that the cyber hacking was more difficult to trace than traditional bank transactions and less closely monitored by individual governments.

In an interview with 38 North, Stephanie Kleine-Ahlbrandt, who participated on the Sanctions Committee’s expert panel, pointed to North Korea’s cyber-attack capabilities against international financial systems as the report’s key finding. Explaining the reason for North Korea’s focus on cyber-attacks, she said, “These attacks are low risk and high yield, requiring only a laptop and Internet access.”

The sanctions committee further noted that North Korea was continuing to engage in clandestine refined oil and coal transactions by way of illegal ship-to-ship transfers. The US reported to the committee that North Korea had illegally transferred over 500,000 barrels of refined oil – the limit permitted annually by UN sanctions – through ship-to-ship methods between January and April of this year. The committee also estimated that North Korea had engaged in at least 127 exportations of coal totaling 930,000 tons as of April this year, adding that it had adopted a new method of evading sanctions by transferring to barges to avoid calling at ports.

By Hwang Joon-bum, Washington correspondent

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