A cargo ship heading from North Korea to Russia was detained in South Korea

The stateless vessel DEYI, traveling from the DPRK and suspected of violating UN sanctions, was detained in South Korea and moved by the coast guard to the port of Busan.

It went to the Russian Federation through China, writes DW, refused to show the cargo and was detained near the coast of Yeosu. As the South Korean news agency Yonhap reported on April 3, citing sources in the security services, the incident occurred on March 30 and is associated with suspicions of violation of UN Security Council sanctions against Pyongyang.

There were thirteen people on board the cargo ship with a displacement of 3,000 tons: the captain, a Chinese citizen, and crew members – citizens of Indonesia and the People's Republic of China. The South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs gave only a brief comment: it confirmed that it was conducting an investigation in cooperation with the United States into possible violations of sanctions by this ship, but refrained from providing details.

After the crew refused to comply with the order to stop, the South Korean coast guard moved the ship to a dock in the port of Busan. At the moment, the publication notes, it is unknown whether the ship actually violated the sanctions, since the crew refused to open the hold and allow the cargo being transported to be checked.

UN Resolution 2397, adopted in 2017, allows states to stop, inspect and confiscate any vessel in their territorial waters if it is suspected of prohibited activities related to North Korea.

South Korea, DW writes, has imposed sanctions since April 3 against two Russian individuals and two legal entities who, according to Seoul, contributed to “financing the DPRK’s nuclear and missile programs” by attracting North Korean specialists to work in Russia. Sanctions have also been imposed on two Russian vessels – Angara and Lady R. Seoul claims that they participated in the “transportation of military cargo between Russia and North Korea” in violation of UN Security Council resolutions.

At the end of March Russia vetoed to extend the mandate of the UN sanctions monitoring group imposed on North Korea in connection with its nuclear and missile programs.

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