North Korea supplying banned nuclear and ballistic missile technology to Iran, Syria and Myanmar

The 75-page report, written by seven experts, was sent to the Security Council this week. Although the report was completed in May, it could not be released for six months due to objections by China, which is North Korea’s neighbor and, at times, protector. 

The experts allege “continuing involvement” of North Korea “in nuclear and ballistic missile-related activities in certain countries, including the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Syrian Arab Republic and Myanmar.”

“The Panel of Experts believes that special attention should be given by all member states to inhibit such activities,” the report said.

The Security Council imposed sanctions on North Korea in 2006 and 2009 for carrying out nuclear tests. However, no sanctions followed the sinking of the South Korean naval ship Cheonan, which is widely believed to have been done by North Korea. 

North Korea, also called the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), denied the sinking and threatened nuclear war if the international community acted against it. 

President Barack Obama, who was attending the G-20 summit in Seoul, blasted Pyongyang for its nuclear program and for the sinking of the Cheonan. 

North Korea’s “darkness,” Obama said Thursday, “is a direct result of the path that has been taken by North Korea — a path of confrontation and provocation, one that includes the pursuit of nuclear weapons and the attack on the Cheonan last March.” 

The Security Council sanctions are in place to stop North Korea from being able to provide and receive weapons, nuclear material and missile technology, but the report describes how Pyongyang is bypassing the U.N. restrictions.

Investigators said illegal arms are being transferred through “false description and mislabeling of the content of the containers, falsification of the manifest covering the shipment, alteration and falsification of the information concerning the original consignor and ultimate consignee, and use of multiple layers or intermediaries, shell companies and financial institutions.”

North Korea is using several schemes to “mask its financial transactions,” according to the report, including the “use of overseas entities, shell companies, informal transfer mechanisms, cash couriers and barter arrangements.”

Since its own ships are under vigilance, the experts pointed out that North Korea is relying increasingly on foreign-owned ships as well as making use of air cargo to transport illegal material. 

“The DPRK is also believed to use air cargo to handle high-valued and sensitive arms exports. Such cargo can be sent by direct air cargo from the DPRK to the destination country,” the experts said, noting that some modern cargo planes can fly nonstop from the DPRK to Iran.

The report also found “suspicious activity” by a sanctioned North Korean company in Myanmar. It also said that North Korea had helped in the construction of Syria’s Dair Alzour nuclear reactor, which was destroyed by an Israeli air raid in 2007.

Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Florida Republican who is slated to head the House’s Foreign Affairs Committee in January, has urged Obama to increase pressure on countries like Iran and North Korea instead of pursuing engagement.

“I think that the majority of our committee, that has yet to be named … will be able to help the president be tougher with countries,” she told Reuters.

So far, eight companies and five individuals in North Korea have been subjected to sanctions and travel bans, but experts assert that there are many more entities in the country carrying out illegal activities.

“These few designations,” the report said, “are inadequate to the task of effectively inhibiting key parties of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea from engaging in proscribed activities.”

AOL World News