NK threatens any follow up to UN PoE; SK diplomatic missions on high alert; Malaysia asked to curb support for Iranian ships; Iran-EAEU FTA
Prohibited Transactions for the week of 6 May 2024 (#47)
North Korea
At the UN, the North Korean representative stated that if “hostile forces” set up a second or third iteration of the now defunct UN Panel of Experts (PoE) on North Korea’s sanctions evasion, they will face “self-destruction with the passage of time” and a “miserable strategic defeat.” The statement was in response to an earlier call by 50 nations to come up with another monitoring method to track Pyongyang’s sanctions evasion efforts.
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South Korea’s foreign ministry raised its anti-terrorism alert status for five of its diplomatic missions — including embassies in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, as well as its consulates in Vladivostok, Russia and Shenyang, PRC — due to potential attacks by North Korea.
North Korea approved the entry of more than 80 Chinese students into the country for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Singapore charged two individuals and a company for supplying goods to North Korea that violate international sanctions. The goods were sent to the DPRK between 2013 and 2018, via Dalian, PRC.
Iran
US Treasury officials visited Malaysia as part of a trip through Southeast Asia to counter financing and revenue generation by Iran and its proxies such as HAMAS. The US officials raised concerns about Malaysian service providers providing support to Iranian vessels which are transferring oil in the region. Kuala Lumpur noted that they do comply with UN sanctions, but would need to assess its response to following sanctions imposed by individual countries.
An analyst noted that the Malaysian government may not have the necessary resources to stop Iranian ship-to-ship (STS) transfers occurring in the country’s exclusive economic zone. The US officials also noted these STS transfers could be an environmental risk.
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An Iranian free trade zone started receiving imported hybrid vehicles — including Toyota Corolla’s, a variety of Mercedes-Benz models, Toyota SHR’s, Toyota Camry’s, Lexus UX’s and 18 van models — for use in the country’s public transportation fleet. //No surprise, but the source of these vehicles is not explicitly stated. Not sure if the “Toyota SHR” is the Toyota C-HR, but the latter is primarily produced in Turkey.
A North Korean economic delegation returned from a visit to Iran, where the DPRK’s external economic relations minister stated Pyongyang’s willingness to cooperate with Iranian automaker Saipa. //As noted in Issue #17, Saipa had previously signed a contract to export vehicles to Russia.
Pakistan’s foreign minister reiterated that the planned gas pipeline with Iran will go forward, despite pressure from the US. Separately, an Iranian diplomat stated that Tehran is ready to supply Pakistan with needed gas to meet the country’s energy needs.
A free trade agreement between Iran and the members of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) — consisting of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Armenia — will likely be implemented in two months, eliminating tariffs on more than 88 percent of goods traded between Iran and the EAEU members.
Uzbekistan’s government stated they are interested in expanding cooperation with Iran to include mining, energy, chemicals, agriculture, health and pharmaceuticals.