South Korea imposed sanctions on 11 vessels and five individuals engaged in illegal ship-to-ship deliveries of oil and various other products to North Korea, Seoul's Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated.
The ships are suspected of procuring refined oil and coal to North Korea and otherwise engaging in smuggling operations which allowed Pyongyang to fund its nuclear research programs. The sanctioned entities will require special permission from Seoul to dock in any port in the country and are banned from engaging in any financial transactions without prior approval from the Bank of Korea (BoK).
The sanctioned vessels have been specified in reports from the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
