Thailand Live Friday 11 October 2024

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North Korea shipments to Syria chemical arms agency intercepted - U.N. report

By Michelle Nichols

 

A man walks beside mass graves of people who died during chemical attacks on Zamalka, in Eastern Ghouta, a suburb of Damascus August 21, 2014. REUTERS/Bassam Khabieh

 

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Two North Korean shipments to a Syrian government agency responsible for the country's chemical weapons program were intercepted in the past six months, according to a confidential United Nations report on North Korea sanctions violations.

 

The report by a panel of independent U.N. experts, which was submitted to the U.N. Security Council earlier this month and seen by Reuters on Monday, gave no details on when or where the interdictions occurred or what the shipments contained.

 

"The panel is investigating reported prohibited chemical, ballistic missile and conventional arms cooperation between Syria and the DPRK (North Korea)," the experts wrote in the 37-page report.

 

"Two member states interdicted shipments destined for Syria. Another Member state informed the panel that it had reasons to believe that the goods were part of a KOMID contract with Syria," according to the report.

 

KOMID is the Korea Mining Development Trading Corporation. It was blacklisted by the Security Council in 2009 and described as Pyongyang's key arms dealer and exporter of equipment related to ballistic missiles and conventional weapons. In March 2016 the council also blacklisted two KOMID representatives in Syria.

 

"The consignees were Syrian entities designated by the European Union and the United States as front companies for Syria's Scientific Studies and Research Centre (SSRC), a Syrian entity identified by the Panel as cooperating with KOMID in previous prohibited item transfers," the U.N. experts wrote.

 

SSRC has overseen the country's chemical weapons programme since the 1970s.

 

The U.N. experts said activities between Syria and North Korea they were investigating included cooperation on Syrian Scud missile programs and maintenance and repair of Syrian surface-to-air missiles air defence systems.

 

The North Korean and Syrian missions to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

 

The experts said they were also investigating the use of the VX nerve agent in Malaysia to kill the estranged half-brother of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un in February.

 

North Korea has been under U.N. sanctions since 2006 over its ballistic missile and nuclear programs and the Security Council has ratcheted up the measures in response to five nuclear weapons tests and four long-range missile launches.

 

Syria agreed to destroy its chemical weapons in 2013 under a deal brokered by Russia and the United States. However, diplomats and weapons inspectors suspect Syria may have secretly maintained or developed a new chemical weapons capability.

 

During the country's more than six-year long civil war the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons has said the banned nerve agent sarin has been used at least twice, while the use of cholorine as a weapon has been widespread. The Syrian government has repeatedly denied using chemical weapons.

 

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Tom Brown)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-08-22

[craigt3365]

And yet some members here support these 2 brutal regimes.

[RobFord]

And yet some members here support these 2 brutal regimes.

 

It isn't only biological wepeons. Korea has also been supporting Irans missile program.

 

 

"Even though there was considerable optimism that the July 2015 ratification of the Iran nuclear deal would halt Tehran’s long-standing military cooperation with North Korea, Iran’s ballistic missile program continues to rely on North Korean military technology. Iran’s ongoing cooperation with North Korea can be explained by a shared distrust of U.S. diplomatic overtures and the common belief that countries have a right to develop self-defense mechanisms without external interference."

 

http://thediplomat.com/2017/05/a-closer-look-at-iran-and-north-koreas-missile-cooperation/

 

 

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[tonbridgebrit]

3 hours ago, craigt3365 said:

And yet some members here support these 2 brutal regimes.

Lets assume Assad is buying chemical weapons. If Assad is using the stuff against ISIS and the Al-Nusra Front (Al-Nusra Front are Al-Qaeda in Syria) , well, who wants to protest ?

[RobFord]

Lets assume Assad is buying chemical weapons. If Assad is using the stuff against ISIS and the Al-Nusra Front (Al-Nusra Front are Al-Qaeda in Syria) , well, who wants to protest ?

Wow, that is ugly. Even trump would bomb you for that.


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[Grouse]

8 minutes ago, tonbridgebrit said:

Lets assume Assad is buying chemical weapons. If Assad is using the stuff against ISIS and the Al-Nusra Front (Al-Nusra Front are Al-Qaeda in Syria) , well, who wants to protest ?

I think you should consider withdrawing that comment.

[craigt3365]

42 minutes ago, tonbridgebrit said:

Lets assume Assad is buying chemical weapons. If Assad is using the stuff against ISIS and the Al-Nusra Front (Al-Nusra Front are Al-Qaeda in Syria) , well, who wants to protest ?

Already been proven Assad has used chemical weapons against his own innocent people. Several times. No assumption. This report helps to substantiate this. Again.

[craigt3365]

49 minutes ago, car720 said:

Why not invite Russia to the festivities?

They can take out one of the three and the US can take out the other two.

End of problem.

Russia has already agreed to the U.N. sanctions. So they understand the problem. You can research that.

[Srikcir]

Load the chemicals into B-2's and return to Jong-Un over the skies of Pyongyang.

Not reality of course.

[craigt3365]

50 minutes ago, car720 said:

What I was trying to say was that China doesn't feel seriously threatened by Russia so if the Russians slipped in from the top and took out North Korea then there would not be the hoorah about the US being on their border.  The Russians, I believe, would unify the north and south and then go home.  Something that the others have not been able to do.

Research  Chinese Russian relations. Not long ago, it wasn't good. They have had some serious border disputes.

 

No way would Russia risk going into NK. LOL Not even a remote possibility. And for sure they'd never get them united much less leave.  LOL