The Yomiuri Shimbun (Japan)
Exposing an apparent loophole in Japan's sanctions against North Korea, a Cambodian-registered freighter carrying 8,500 used bicycles left Sakai Port in Sakaiminato, Tottori Prefecture, for North Korea on Tuesday, it has been learned.
It is the first such move since the government banned the entry of North Korean vessels following Pyongyang's nuclear test in October.
The 2,740-ton Argus was provided by a Russian shipping firm at the request of a Nagano-based trading company among others.
The cargo vessel left Nakhodka, eastern Russia, early this month and docked at Sakai Port on Sunday.
The freighter carrying about 8,500 used bicycles and 16 secondhand trucks headed to the North Korean port of Wonsan late Tuesday afternoon.
According to sources, the cargo on the vessel, which was supplied by the trading company and a local firm near Sakai Port, are believed to have been exported to a North Korean military-related trading house.
North Korean vessels are used to transport bicycles and other goods to the country after perishable food, such as crab, are unloaded at Sakai Port and other places.
North Korean firms distribute such bicycles in the country and resell them to China and other countries to earn marginal profits, according to a company that has had dealings with North Korea.
In this case, North Korea is highly likely to resell the bicycles to other countries.
Following North Korea's nuclear test in October, the Japanese government banned the entry of all North Korean-registered ships into Japanese ports, prohibited the importation of all products from North Korea and blocked exports of luxury goods, such as passenger cars and electrical appliances, from Japan.
Although bicycles are not included in the list of luxury items prohibited for export to North Korea, the ban on ships entering the nation's ports has effectively restricted the export of bicycles to North Korea.
According to the Finance Ministry, 14,629 bicycles were exported to North Korea from Japan between January and October, but since then there have been no recorded exports of any bicycles.
An official of Kobe Customhouse's Sakai branch said, "As the shipment on board this time isn't subject to the export ban, if North Korea uses a ship registered with a country permitted to enter Japanese ports, such a method to export goods from Japan to North Korea can't be a problem."
However, a government official said, "We regard the sanctions [against North Korea] as comprehensive, and therefore we'd like to take this case into consideration further to decide proper sanctions."
Prof. Toshio Miyatsuka at Yamanashi Gakuin University said, "If exports to North Korea using ships registered with third countries are started, the sanctions would lose their effectiveness and their power would also be watered down."
"The government should consider expanding the items prohibited for export to North Korea [from Japan]. But as such a move would affect Japanese traders that have had dealings with North Korea, the government could also come up with some support measures for them," Miyatsuka added.
It is the first such move since the government banned the entry of North Korean vessels following Pyongyang's nuclear test in October.
The 2,740-ton Argus was provided by a Russian shipping firm at the request of a Nagano-based trading company among others.
The cargo vessel left Nakhodka, eastern Russia, early this month and docked at Sakai Port on Sunday.
The freighter carrying about 8,500 used bicycles and 16 secondhand trucks headed to the North Korean port of Wonsan late Tuesday afternoon.
According to sources, the cargo on the vessel, which was supplied by the trading company and a local firm near Sakai Port, are believed to have been exported to a North Korean military-related trading house.
North Korean vessels are used to transport bicycles and other goods to the country after perishable food, such as crab, are unloaded at Sakai Port and other places.
North Korean firms distribute such bicycles in the country and resell them to China and other countries to earn marginal profits, according to a company that has had dealings with North Korea.
In this case, North Korea is highly likely to resell the bicycles to other countries.
Following North Korea's nuclear test in October, the Japanese government banned the entry of all North Korean-registered ships into Japanese ports, prohibited the importation of all products from North Korea and blocked exports of luxury goods, such as passenger cars and electrical appliances, from Japan.
Although bicycles are not included in the list of luxury items prohibited for export to North Korea, the ban on ships entering the nation's ports has effectively restricted the export of bicycles to North Korea.
According to the Finance Ministry, 14,629 bicycles were exported to North Korea from Japan between January and October, but since then there have been no recorded exports of any bicycles.
An official of Kobe Customhouse's Sakai branch said, "As the shipment on board this time isn't subject to the export ban, if North Korea uses a ship registered with a country permitted to enter Japanese ports, such a method to export goods from Japan to North Korea can't be a problem."
However, a government official said, "We regard the sanctions [against North Korea] as comprehensive, and therefore we'd like to take this case into consideration further to decide proper sanctions."
Prof. Toshio Miyatsuka at Yamanashi Gakuin University said, "If exports to North Korea using ships registered with third countries are started, the sanctions would lose their effectiveness and their power would also be watered down."
"The government should consider expanding the items prohibited for export to North Korea [from Japan]. But as such a move would affect Japanese traders that have had dealings with North Korea, the government could also come up with some support measures for them," Miyatsuka added.
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