Help Sell North Korea Missile Parts, Australians Sentenced To Jail

North Korea's Hwasong 14 intercontinental ballistic missile. (Wikimedia Commons/Stefan Krasowski)

JAKARTA - An Australian man has been sentenced to more than three years in prison after trying to help sell North Korean missile parts and other items in defiance of UN sanctions.

Chan Han Choi, 62, from Sydney, was charged in 2017 with offenses including attempting to broker a deal between North Korea and Indonesia.

After initially denying the charges, he pleaded guilty in February to violating sanctions by brokering the sale of arms and related materials from Pyongyang in exchange for petroleum products. He also tried to export coal from North Korea to Indonesia.

Choi, a South Korean-born civil engineer who moved to Australia in the 1980s, was last week sentenced to three years and six months in prison, ending what the Australian Federal Police (AFP) described as a complex investigation with a unique international scope.

"This person's actions are in contravention of UN sanctions, which means a great deal of effort and organization is needed on his part to facilitate this illegal act," AFP's Acting Detective Inspector Kris Wilson said in a statement.

"The sale of these items could put countless lives at risk, and all AFP members involved in this investigation should be proud of their efforts."

Meanwhile, Australia's New South Wales State Supreme Court Judge Christine Adamson said those who tried to violate sanctions "weaken international pressure meant to be sanctioned", but noted that Choi's behavior was "limited to a few discontinued transactions". .

In court documents, he said Choi "wants to help the North Korean people, against whom he believes international sanctions operate unfairly, as well as to earn money".

In 2017, Choi was charged with seven offenses, including charges of trying to help provide arms sales to North Korea.

Choi, who all denied all charges, eventually pleaded guilty to two charges, namely brokering services for the sale of arms and related materials from Pyongyang. As well as trying to export coal from North Korea to Indonesia.

Although ultimately convicted and sentenced to prison, Choi is now free after being sentenced, as he has been in custody since the time of his arrest.