US Rewards For Those With Information That China Violates North Korean Sanctions

North Korea's supreme leader, Kim Jong Un (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

JAKARTA - The United States (US) has accused China of committing "flagrant violations" of its obligation to impose international sanctions on North Korea (North Korea). The United States is offering gifts of up to 5 million US dollars for those who can provide information about China evading sanctions for North Korea.

According to Reuters on Thursday, December 3, Deputy Assistant Secretary for North Korea Alex Wong accused China of trying to cancel UN sanctions aimed at persuading North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons. Wong warned of new US sanctions against individuals and entities based in China in response to the breach.

"We have imposed many such sanctions in the past, and I want to tell you, many more are to come," said Wong.

Wong also said the State Department launched a website where people can provide information about China exercising sanctions evasion for North Korea. Those who are able to provide information will be rewarded with up to US $ 5 million or Rp70 billion.

A spokesman for China's Foreign Ministry said China has always taken sanctions seriously. But he said other countries should be more concerned about how sanctions have affected humanity in North Korea.

Wong said China continues to host at least 20,000 North Korean workers in violation of a UN ban. In 2019, the United States observed ships carrying coal or other sanctioned goods from North Korea to China on 555 separate occasions.

"On this occasion ... Did the Chinese authorities act to stop these illegal imports," Wong told the US Center for Strategic and International Studies.

He said China currently hosts dozens of North Korean representatives linked to Pyongyang's weapons program or banks. Chinese companies continue to do business with entities that are subject to UN sanctions.

Wong said China was "increasingly allowing" its companies to trade with North Korea on a broad spectrum of UN prohibited goods, including seafood, textiles, iron and steel, industrial machinery, vehicles, sand and gravel.

"In other countries we do not see the breadth and depth of continued illegal commercial activity with North Korea, the scale that places China in flagrant violation of its obligations," he said.

"They are seeking to revive trade ties and transfer income to the North, thereby ensuring China's reach into the North's economy."

China says it complies with UN sanctions on North Korea, although it co-exists with Russia, expressing hope that easing conditions could help break the deadlock in nuclear talks between the United States and North Korea.

The United States also accuses China of helping North Korea to carry out money laundering from cyber theft to raise funds for its weapons program. The US President who is about to leave office, Donald Trump had an unprecedented meeting with Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un.

The meeting was an attempt to persuade Kim Jong-un to give up his nuclear weapons, but failed. In October, North Korea launched one of the world's largest mobile intercontinental ballistic missiles on land. Experts say the missile is capable of reaching any point in the US if it is put into operation.