"Russian vessels have made ship-to-ship transfers of petrochemicals to North Korean vessels on several occasions this year in breach of sanctions," the first security source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Reuters.A second source, who independently confirmed the existence of the Russian ship-to-ship fuel trade with North Korea, said there was no evidence of Russian state involvement in the latest transfers. The owner of one ship accused of smuggling oil to North Korea denied any such activity.The US State Department , in a statement, called on Russia and other UN members to "strictly implement" sanctions on North Korea and to work "more closely together to shut down UN-prohibited activities, including ship-to-ship transfers of refined petroleum and the transport of coal from North Korea. It also requires oil for its intercontinental ballistic missile and nuclear programme that the United States says threatens the peace in Asia. "The vessels are smuggling Russian fuel from Russian Far Eastern ports to North Korea," said the first security source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.Reuters was unable to independently verify that the vessels had transferred fuel to North Korean vessels, whether the Russian state knew about the sales or how many Russian vessels were involved in the transfers. "Three North Korean ships among the 10 were blacklisted, along with a Panama-registered vessel.

Source: Times of India December 30, 2017 12:18 UTC