WASHINGTON -- The U.S. said Thursday that it has seized a North Korean cargo ship that was used to violate international sanctions, a first-of-its kind enforcement action that comes amid a tense moment in relations between the two countries.

The "Wise Honest," North Korea's second largest cargo ship, was detained in April 2018 as it travelled toward Indonesia. It's now in the process of being moved to American Samoa, Justice Department officials said.

Officials made the announcement hours after North Korea fired two suspected short-range missiles toward the sea, the second weapons launch in five days and a possible signal that stalled talks over its nuclear weapons program are in trouble. The public disclosure that the vessel is now in U.S. custody may further inflame tensions, though U.S. officials said the timing of their complaint was not a response to the missile launch.

Justice Department lawyers laid out the case for confiscating the ship in a complaint filed in New York, arguing that payments for maintenance and operation of the vessel were channeled through unwitting U.S. financial institutions in violation of American law. The coal trade itself is also believed to fund the isolated country's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.

"This sanctions-busting ship is now out of service," Assistant Attorney General John Demers, the Justice Department's top national security official, told reporters. He later added: "The U.S. sanctions against North Korea reflect the threat these programs pose to U.S. national security."

The 581-foot (177 metres) Wise Honest was used for coal transports to ports abroad, according to the complaint, generating badly needed revenue to a country that is under U.N. sanctions because of its nuclear weapons program. The ship also delivered heavy machinery back to North Korea.

The vessel was owned by a subsidiary of a North Korean shipping company that is controlled by the country's military and is on a Treasury Department sanctions list, officials said.

North Korea sought to disguise the nationality of the ship and the origin of its cargo, according to the complaint. The ship, in what U.S. officials say was a clear act of concealment, also turned off an automatic signal system intended to alert other ships of its course and location. The ship had not broadcast a signal since August 2017 despite having made at least one voyage since then, according to the complaint.

Indonesian authorities intercepted and seized the Wise Honest in the East China Sea a month after it was photographed at the port of Nampo, North Korea, where it took on a load of coal. The captain of the ship was charged in Indonesia with violating that country's maritime laws and convicted, the complaint says. It was not immediately clear what happened to the rest of the crew, which at least at one time totalled two dozen members.

The U.S. has prosecuted people and businesses for violating sanctions but has never before seized a North Korean ship. The country will have an opportunity to contest the seizure in court. If the U.S. prevails, it will be able to sell the vessel.

"When nations who have stated an intent to do harm to the United States evade international sanctions, Americans become less safe," said Geoffrey Berman, the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York.

Asked whether North Korea's largest merchant ship was similarly involved in illegal coal exports, Demers said that he did not know, but added, "If it is, we'd love to get our hands on it."

President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have held two summits focused on the North's nuclear program but have made no discernible progress toward a deal that would eliminate its weapons. At the White House on Thursday, Trump said the U.S. was looking "very seriously right now" at North Korea's recent military tests. </s> WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. said Thursday that it has seized a North Korean cargo ship that was used to violate international sanctions, a first-of-its kind enforcement action that comes amid a tense moment in…

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. said Thursday that it has seized a North Korean cargo ship that was used to violate international sanctions, a first-of-its kind enforcement action that comes amid a tense moment in relations between the two countries.

The “Wise Honest,” North Korea’s second largest cargo ship, was detained in April 2018 as it traveled toward Indonesia. It’s now in the process of being moved to American Samoa, Justice Department officials said.

Officials made the announcement hours after North Korea fired two suspected short-range missiles toward the sea, the second weapons launch in five days and a possible signal that stalled talks over its nuclear weapons program are in trouble. The public disclosure that the vessel is now in U.S. custody may further inflame tensions, though U.S. officials said the timing of their complaint was not a response to the missile launch.

Justice Department lawyers laid out the case for confiscating the ship in a complaint filed in New York, arguing that payments for maintenance and operation of the vessel were channeled through unwitting U.S. financial institutions in violation of American law. The coal trade itself is also believed to fund the isolated country’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.

“This sanctions-busting ship is now out of service,” Assistant Attorney General John Demers, the Justice Department’s top national security official, told reporters. He later added: “The U.S. sanctions against North Korea reflect the threat these programs pose to U.S. national security.”

The 581-foot (177 meters) Wise Honest was used for coal transports to ports abroad, according to the complaint, generating badly needed revenue to a country that is under U.N. sanctions because of its nuclear weapons program. The ship also delivered heavy machinery back to North Korea.

The vessel was owned by a subsidiary of a North Korean shipping company that is controlled by the country’s military and is on a Treasury Department sanctions list, officials said.

North Korea sought to disguise the nationality of the ship and the origin of its cargo, according to the complaint. The ship, in what U.S. officials say was a clear act of concealment, also turned off an automatic signal system intended to alert other ships of its course and location. The ship had not broadcast a signal since August 2017 despite having made at least one voyage since then, according to the complaint.

Indonesian authorities intercepted and seized the Wise Honest in the East China Sea a month after it was photographed at the port of Nampo, North Korea, where it took on a load of coal. The captain of the ship was charged in Indonesia with violating that country’s maritime laws and convicted, the complaint says. It was not immediately clear what happened to the rest of the crew, which at least at one time totaled two dozen members.

The U.S. has prosecuted people and businesses for violating sanctions but has never before seized a North Korean ship. The country will have an opportunity to contest the seizure in court. If the U.S. prevails, it will be able to sell the vessel.

“When nations who have stated an intent to do harm to the United States evade international sanctions, Americans become less safe,” said Geoffrey Berman, the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York.

Asked whether North Korea’s largest merchant ship was similarly involved in illegal coal exports, Demers said that he did not know, but added, “If it is, we’d love to get our hands on it.”

President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have held two summits focused on the North’s nuclear program but have made no discernible progress toward a deal that would eliminate its weapons. At the White House on Thursday, Trump said the U.S. was looking “very seriously right now” at North Korea’s recent military tests.

Copyright © 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed. </s> The Trump administration has seized a North Korean cargo ship used to supply coal to the isolated nation in violation of international sanctions, law enforcement officials said Thursday. The seizure of the vessel, initially detained last year in Indonesia, comes at a delicate moment between the two countries.

It was announced hours after the North Koreans fired three suspected short-range missiles, CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reports. It also follows a Pentagon decision to suspend efforts to arrange negotiations on recovering additional remains of U.S. service members killed in the North during the Korean War.

The Justice Department said the ship, the Wise Honest, is one of North Korea's largest bulk carriers and for several years had been used to deliver Russian coal to North Korea.

Payments for maintenance and equipment for the vessel were made in American dollars through unwitting U.S. banks, a violation of sanctions that bar North Korean citizens or entities from the U.S. financial system.

Officials said North Korea sought to conceal the vessel's purpose by listing in shipping documentation different countries for its nationality and the origin of the coal. "This sanctions-busting ship is now out of service," said Assistant Attorney General John Demers, the Justice Department's top national security official.

According to a civil complaint filed Thursday in federal court in Manhattan, the ship was intercepted and seized by Indonesian authorities on April 2, 2018. At the time, it was about 2,800 miles south of Nampo, North Korea, where it had been photographed a month earlier. The complaint said that after taking the load of coal, the ship sailed south with it toward Indonesia.

The vessel has since been taken into custody by the U.S. </s> WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has seized a North Korean cargo ship used to supply coal to the isolated nation in violation of international sanctions, law enforcement officials said Thursday.

The seizure of the vessel, detained last month in Indonesia, comes at a delicate moment between the two countries. It was announced hours after the North Koreans fired two suspected short-range missiles in an apparent sign of trouble for nuclear disarmament talks.

It also follows a Pentagon decision to suspend efforts to arrange negotiations on recovering additional remains of U.S. service members killed in the North during the Korean War.

The Justice Department said the ship, the Wise Honest, is one of North Korea’s largest bulk carriers and for several years had been used to deliver Russian coal to North Korea.

Payments for maintenance and equipment for the vessel were made in American dollars through unwitting U.S. banks, a violation of sanctions that bar North Korean citizens or entities from the U.S. financial system.

Officials say North Korea sought to conceal the vessel’s purpose by listing in shipping documentation different countries for its nationality and the origin of the coal.

“This sanctions-busting ship is now out of service,” said Assistant Attorney General John Demers, the Justice Department’s top national security official.

According to a civil complaint filed Thursday in federal court in Manhattan, the ship was intercepted and seized by Indonesian authorities on April 2, 2018. At the time, it was about 2,800 miles south of Nampo, North Korea, where it had been photographed a month earlier. The complaint says that after taking the load of coal, the ship sailed south with it toward Indonesia.

The vessel has since been taken into custody by the U.S. </s> WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has seized a North Korean cargo ship used to supply coal to the isolated nation in violation of international sanctions, law enforcement officials said Thursday.

The seizure of the vessel, detained last month in Indonesia, comes at a delicate moment between the two countries. It was announced hours after the North Koreans fired two suspected short-range missiles in an apparent sign of trouble for nuclear disarmament talks.

It also follows a Pentagon decision to suspend efforts to arrange negotiations on recovering additional remains of U.S. service members killed in the North during the Korean War.

The Justice Department said the ship, the Wise Honest, is one of North Korea's largest bulk carriers and for several years had been used to deliver Russian coal to North Korea.

Payments for maintenance and equipment for the vessel were made in American dollars through unwitting U.S. banks, a violation of sanctions that bar North Korean citizens or entities from the U.S. financial system.

Officials say North Korea sought to conceal the vessel's purpose by listing in shipping documentation different countries for its nationality and the origin of the coal.

"This sanctions-busting ship is now out of service," said Assistant Attorney General John Demers, the Justice Department's top national security official.

According to a civil complaint filed Thursday in federal court in Manhattan, the ship was intercepted and seized by Indonesian authorities on April 2, 2018. At the time, it was about 2,800 miles south of Nampo, North Korea, where it had been photographed a month earlier. The complaint says that after taking the load of coal, the ship sailed south with it toward Indonesia.

The vessel has since been taken into custody by the U.S. </s> South Korea's military says North Korea has fired 'unidentified projectiles' from a site near Pyongyang. South Korea's joint chiefs of staff say the projectiles were fired in an easterly direction. Image: News Corp Australia

Tensions are once again on the rise between North Korea and the United States.

Pyongyang has conducted two missile tests in the past week, for the first time in 500 days. More recently, the US has seized a North Korean cargo ship that was allegedly operating in violation of international sanctions.

The events are likely to heighten conflict between the two countries, as US efforts to dissuade North Korea from pursuing its nuclear weapons program have stalled.

TENSIONS ON THE RISE OVER MISSILE TESTS

North Korea has conducted two missile tests in the past week.

Yesterday afternoon, the hermit nation launched two short-range missiles from the Kusong region in the country’s northwest. The missiles landed in the East Sea between North Korea and Japan.

The first missile, which was fired off on May 4, marked North Korea’s first short-range missile testing in more than 500 days.

In February, North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump met in Hanoi, Vietnam. In their second summit, they tried to secure a deal on dismantling North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs, but neither side could come to a mutually accepted agreement.

The North Korean government has refuted allegations the missile test was conducted aggressively.

“The recent drill conducted by our army is nothing more than part of the regular military training, and it has neither targeted anyone nor led to an aggravation of situation in the region,” a North Korean foreign ministry official said in a statement in the state-run Korean Central News Agency.

The statement avoided using the words missile, rocket or projectile. “The successful drill of deployment and strike designed to inspect the ability of rapid reaction of the defence units … fully showed the might of the units which were fully prepared to proficiently carry out any operation and combat,” KCNA said.

Mr Trump says he knows North Korea wants to negotiate with the United States but he does not think it is ready to do so.

“The relationship continues … I know they want to negotiate, they’re talking about negotiating. But I don’t think they’re ready to negotiate,” Mr Trump told reporters at the White House.

He said “nobody is happy” about North Korea’s latest missile launch.

Earlier in the week, after the first missile launch, Mr Trump expressed his confidence in the North Korean dictator, saying he “knows that I am with him” and that a “Deal will happen!”

The Trump administration has seized a North Korean cargo ship used to supply coal to the isolated nation in violation of international sanctions, law enforcement officials said.

The seizure of the vessel, detained last month in Indonesia, comes at a delicate moment between the two countries.

It follows a Pentagon decision to suspend efforts to arrange negotiations on recovering additional remains of US service members killed in the North during the Korean War.

The Justice Department said the seized ship, the Wise Honest, is one of North Korea’s largest bulk carriers and for several years had been used to deliver Russian coal to North Korea.

Payments for maintenance and equipment for the vessel were made in American dollars through unwitting US banks, a violation of sanctions that bar North Korean citizens or entities from the US financial system.

Officials say North Korea sought to conceal the vessel’s purpose by listing in shipping documentation different countries for its nationality and the origin of the coal.

“This sanctions-busting ship is now out of service,” said Assistant Attorney-General John Demers, the Justice Department’s top national security official.

According to a civil complaint filed on Thursday in federal court in Manhattan, the ship was intercepted and seized by Indonesian authorities on April 2, 2018.

At the time, it was about 4500 kilometres south of Nampo, North Korea, where it had been photographed a month earlier. The complaint says that after taking the load of coal, the ship sailed south with it toward Indonesia.

The vessel has since been taken into custody by the US. </s> The "Wise Honest," North Korea's second largest cargo ship, was detained during an April 2018 stop in Indonesia and will be moved to American Samoa, Justice Department officials said

Washington: The US said Thursday it has seized a North Korean cargo ship that was used to violate international sanctions, a first-of-its kind enforcement action that comes tense moment in relations between the two countries. The "Wise Honest," North Korea's second largest cargo ship, was detained during an April 2018 stop in Indonesia and will be moved to American Samoa, Justice Department officials said.

Officials made the announcement hours after the North Korea fired two suspected short-range missiles toward the sea, a second weapons launch in five days and a possible signal that stalled talks over its nuclear weapons program are in trouble. Justice Department lawyers laid out the case for confiscating the ship in a complaint filed in New York, arguing that payments for maintenance and operation of the vessel were channeled through US financial institutions in violation of American law. "This sanctions-busting ship is now out of service," said Assistant Attorney General John Demers, the Justice Department's top national security official.

The timing of the complaint was unrelated to the missile launch, US officials said. The 581-foot (177 meters) Wise Honest was used to transport North Korean coal to China, Russia and other countries, generating badly needed revenue to a country that is under UN sanctions because of its nuclear weapons program. North Korea sought to disguise the ship's operations by listing various other countries for its nationality and the origin of its cargo, according to the complaint.

Indonesian authorities intercepted and seized the Wise Honest in the East China Sea a month after it was photographed at the port of Nampo, North Korea, where it took on a load of coal. The US has prosecuted people and businesses for violating sanctions but has never before seized a North Korean ship. The country will have an opportunity to contest the seizure in court. If the US prevails, it will be able to sell the vessel. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have held two summits focused on the North's nuclear program but have made no discernible progress toward a deal that would eliminate its weapons.
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Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates </s> PARIS/LONDON/MOSCOW (Reuters) - North Korea shipped coal to Russia last year which was then delivered to South Korea and Japan in a likely violation of U.N. sanctions, three Western European intelligence sources said.

 The U.N. Security Council banned North Korean exports of coal last Aug. 5 under sanctions intended to cut off an important source of the foreign currency Pyongyang needs to fund its nuclear weapon and missile programs. 

 But the secretive Communist state has at least three times since then shipped coal to the Russian ports of Nakhodka and Kholmsk, where it was unloaded at docks and reloaded onto ships that took it to South Korea or Japan, the sources said.

 A Western shipping source said separately that some of the cargoes reached Japan and South Korea in October last year. A U.S. security source also confirmed the coal trade via Russia and said it was continuing.

 "Russia's port of Nakhodka is becoming a transhipping hub for North Korean coal," said one of the European security sources, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of international diplomacy around North Korea.

 Asked to respond to the report, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that Russia abided by international law.

 "Russia is a responsible member of the international community," he told reporters on a conference call. 

 Interfax news agency quoted an unidentified official at Russia's embassy to North Korea on Friday as saying Russia did not buy coal from North Korea and was "not a transit point for coal deliveries to third countries." 

 Russia's mission to the United Nations told the Security Council sanctions committee on Nov. 3 that Moscow was complying with the sanctions. 

 Two lawyers who specialize in sanctions law told Reuters it appeared the transactions violated U.N. sanctions. 

 Reuters could not independently verify whether the coal unloaded at the Russian docks was the same coal that was then shipped to South Korea and Japan. Reuters also was unable to ascertain whether the owners of the vessels that sailed from Russia to South Korea and Japan knew the origin of the coal.

 The U.S. Treasury on Wednesday put the owner of one of the ships, the UAL Ji Bong 6, under sanctions for delivering North Korean coal to Kholmsk on Sept. 5. 

 It was unclear which companies profited from the coal shipments.

 

 RUSSIA URGED "DO MORE" ON SANCTIONS 

 North Korean coal exports were initially capped under a 2016 Security Council resolution that required countries to report monthly imports of coal from North Korea to the council's sanctions committee within 30 days of the end of each month.

 Diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Russia had not reported any imports of North Korea coal to the committee last year.

 The sanctions committee told U.N. member states in November that a violation occurs when "activities or transactions proscribed by Security Council resolutions are undertaken or attempts are made to engage in proscribed transactions, whether or not the transaction has been completed."

 Asked about the shipments identified by Reuters, Matthew Oresman, a partner with law firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman who advises companies on sanctions, said: "Based on these facts, there appears to be a violation of the U.N. Security Council resolution by the parties involved."

 "Also those involved in arranging, financing, and carrying out the shipments could likely face U.S. sanctions," he said.

 The United States has led efforts to toughen U.N. sanctions to force North Korea to give up development of nuclear missiles capable of hitting America. 

 Asked about the shipments, a U.S. State Department spokesman said: "It's clear that Russia needs to do more. All U.N. member states, including Russia, are required to implement sanctions resolutions in good faith and we expect them all to do so."

 Earlier this month, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson accused Russia of not implementing all the U.N sanctions and said Moscow "may be frustrating" some of the steps.

 Tillerson said the Russian failure to comply with the U.N. measures "primarily" concerned fuel "but some other areas potentially as well."

 A State Department official said it was time for Russia to act.

 "There is no more time for excuses," the official said. "The world is watching Russia’s actions closely."

 "Russia says it wants better relations with the United States, so Moscow should prove that by cooperating with us, not working against us, on this urgent threat to all nations." 

 The independent panel of experts that reports to the Security Council on violations of sanctions was not available for comment. 

 North Korea has refused to give up the development of nuclear missiles capable of hitting the United States. It has said the sanctions infringe its sovereignty and accused the United States of wanting to isolate and stifle North Korea.

 An independent panel of experts reported to the Security Council on Sept. 5 that North Korea had been "deliberately using indirect channels to export prohibited commodities, evading sanctions."

 Reuters reported last month that Russian tankers had supplied fuel to North Korea at sea and U.S. President Donald Trump told Reuters in an interview on Jan. 17 that Russia was helping Pyongyang get supplies in violation of the sanctions.

 The U.S. Treasury on Wednesday imposed sanctions on nine entities, 16 people and six North Korean ships it accused of helping the weapons programs. 

 

 GRAPHIC: North Korean coal shipments via Russia - http://tmsnrt.rs/2DRokNW 

 

 TWO ROUTES

 Two separate routes for the coal were identified by the Western security sources.

 The first used vessels from North Korea via Nakhodka, about 85 km (53 miles) east of the Russian city of Vladivostok. 

 One vessel that used this route was the Palau-flagged Jian Fu which Russian port control documents show delivered 17,415 tonnes of coal after sailing from Nampo in North Korea on Aug. 3 and docking at berth No. 4 run by LLC Port Livadiya in Nakhodka. It left the port on Aug. 18. 

 The vessel had turned off its tracking transmitter from July 24 to Aug. 2, when it was in open seas, according to publicly available ship tracking data. Under maritime conventions, this is acceptable practice at the discretion of the ship's captain, but means the vessel could not be tracked publicly. 

 Another ship arrived at the same berth -- No. 4 -- on Aug. 16, loaded 20,500 tonnes of coal and headed to the South Korean port of Ulsan in Aug. 24, according to Russian port control documents.

 Reuters was unable to reach the operator of the Jian Fu, which was listed in shipping directories as the China-based Sunrise Ship Management. The Nakhodka-based transport agent of the Jian Fu did not respond to written and telephone requests for comment. LLC Port Livadiya did not respond to a written request for comment.

 The second route took coal via Kholmsk on the Russian Pacific island of Sakhalin, north of Japan.

 At least two North Korean vessels unloaded coal at a dock in Kholmsk port in August and September after arriving from the ports of Wonsan and Taean in North Korea, Russian port control data and ship tracking data showed.

 The Rung Ra 2 docked in Kholmsk three times between Aug. 1 and Sept. 12, unloading a total of 15,542 tonnes of coal, while the Ul Ji Bong 6 unloaded a total of 10,068 tonnes of coal on two separate port calls -- on Aug. 3 and between Sept. 1 and Sept. 8, according to the official Russian Information System for State Port Control. 

 The coal did not pass Russian customs because of the UN sanctions taking effect, but was then loaded at the same dock onto Chinese-operated vessels. Those vessels stated their destination in Russian port control documents as North Korea, according to a source in Sakhalin port administration who spoke on condition of anonymity. 

 Reuters has seen the port control documents which state the destination of the coal as North Korea. But the vessels that loaded the North Korean coal sailed instead for the ports of Pohang and Incheon in South Korea, ship tracking data showed.

 In Beijing on Friday, foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters she did not know anything about the situation but China was clear in its hope that the UN resolutions are followed fully. 

 China will not allow any Chinese company or individual to do anything that goes against the resolutions and if there is cast-iron proof this is happening, China will handle it seriously and in accordance with the law, she added. 

 The U.S. Treasury on Wednesday included the owner of the Ul Ji Bong 6 under sanctions for delivering North Korean coal to Kholmsk after the sanctions took effect. 

 It was unclear which companies profited from the coal shipments.

 Asked about the shipments, a South Korean foreign ministry official said: "Our government is monitoring any sanctions-evading activities by North Korea. We're working closely with the international community for the implementation of the sanctions."

 The official declined to say whether the ministry was aware of the shipments reported by Reuters. 

 The Japanese foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

 The European security sources said the route via Russia had developed as China, North Korea's neighbor and lone major ally, cracked down on exports from the secretive Communist state. 

 "The Chinese have cracked down on coal exports from North Korea so the smuggling route has developed and Russia is the transit point for coal," one of the European security sources said.

 

 (Writing by Guy Faulconbridge and Jonathan Saul; Additional reporting by Michele Nichols in New York, Oksana Kobzeva and Gleb Stolyarov in Moscow, Hyonhee Shin in Seoul, William James in London, Muyu Xu, Ben Blanchard and Josephine Mason in Beijing, Aaron Sheldrick and Linda Sieg in Tokyo, and David Brunnstrom, Mark Hosenball and Matt Spetalnick in Washington; Editing by Timothy Heritage, Clarence Fernandez, Sonya Hepinstall and Lisa Shumaker) </s> The US Justice Department has taken possession of North Korea's second-largest freighter, seized in Indonesia last year for allegedly shipping coal in violation of UN sanctions, ratcheting up tensions between the two countries.The DoJ has asked a federal judge to transfer ownership of the 17,000-ton Wise Honest - North Korea's second-largest bulk cargo ship - to the US through civil forfeiture, a controversial legal process that allows authorities to take possession of vehicles and other property involved in felonies like drug smuggling.This process has never been used to seize a North Korean ship for sanctions violations, but because the DPRK used American banks to finance the ship's upkeep, the US is entitled to take it, according to the complaint, which charges the vessel itself with crimes including money laundering.Accusing the Korea Songi Shipping Company of "concealing the origin of their ship" to sell coal in violation of UN sanctions, US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Geoffrey Berman alleged the Wise Honest was also used to "import heavy machinery to North Korea, helping expand North Korea's capabilities and continuing the cycle of sanctions evasion."Korea Songi, reportedly a subsidiary of a company controlled by the North Korean military, is additionally charged with breaking American law by using three different US banks to pay for the ship's upkeep to the tune of $750,000.Indonesian authorities detained the ship en route to American Samoa after receiving a photograph that appeared to show the vessel being loaded with coal. The captain was charged with improper documentation, a violation of Indonesian maritime law, and convicted. The US seized the ship under warrant in July, but it is only now being towed to American Samoa, according to the Justice Department.In recent days, North Korea has test-fired long-range multiple rocket launchers and what is believed to be short-range missiles. But Justice Department officials insist the decision to take possession of the Wise Honest is unrelated to the drills. The latest launches were conducted on Thursday. The South Korean president alleged that they came in response to stalled nuclear talks with Washington.Earlier this year, US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met in Hanoi, Vietnam in hopes of another breakthrough in denuclearization. The summit failed, however, with North Korea pinning the blame on Washington.
For the first time the United States seizes a North Korean merchant ship loaded with coal in the East China Sea sailing toward Indonesia. The ship is suspected of violating sanctions.