Japan and South Korea impose penalties on North Korea.
Both Japan and South Korea have taken action against companies and people believed to be involved in aiding North Korea's arms delivery to Russia, which may have been used in the conflict in Ukraine.
South Korea claims that North Korea is transporting weapons through container ships to Russia. It's also thought these weapons could be destined for use in the ongoing war in Ukraine. South Korea's Foreign Ministry has reported placing sanctions on two Russian and seven North Korean ships. These vessels have been shipping "a large number of containers with military equipment between Russia and North Korea."
Meanwhile, Japanese government spokesperson Yoshimasa Hayashi has stated Tokyo, in conjunction with allies like the United States, has frozen the assets of eleven groups and one person. These entities are said to be "involved in Russian-North Korean military aid that supports Moscow's invasion of Ukraine." He added: "This is a violation of UN Security Council resolutions that categorically prohibit the transfer of arms and related materials with North Korea."
Atleast nine of the sanctioned organizations and the individual targeted by Japan are based in Russia, as per a report in the Japanese newspaper "Asahi." Two of the affected organizations are situated in Cyprus. The tightening of ties between Russia and North Korea was highlighted when Russia rejected the UN Security Council's surveillance of compliance with sanctions against North Korea and its nuclear and weapons programs at the end of March.
On the other hand, North Korea denies any involvement in supplying weapons to Russia. The leadership in Pyongyang issued a statement last week declaring they had "no intention of exporting our technical military capabilities to any country." Furthermore, amid the ongoing nuclear test threats by North Korea, South Korea is gravitating closer to former colonial power Japan. An unprecedented three-way summit between South Korea, Japan, and North Korea's ally China is scheduled to take place next week for the first time in five years.
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Japan has expressed concern over Russia's arms exports to North Korea, as reportedly agreed upon in their meeting with the United States. This follows Japan's imposition of sanctions on entities believed to be involved in the delivery of Russian-North Korean military aid, supporting Moscow's actions in Ukraine.
In response to South Korea's claims of North Korean weapons transport to Russia, Moscow has yet to comment, maintaining its stance on complying with UN sanctions against North Korea.
Source: www.ntv.de
