UN sanctions ships for violating North Korea sanctions

The United Nations has imposed a global port ban on four ships found to be violating UN Security Council sanctions on North Korea.

North Korean ships wait to dock at a western port. (Source: AFP)

Coordinator of the Committee on North Korea SanctionsThe UN Security Council's Hugh Griffiths made the announcement on October 9 at a UN meeting, saying the vessels were found "carrying prohibited cargo."

The ban, which is not an asset freeze or travel ban, is a ban on ships from docking at ports around the world, Griffiths said, and will take effect on October 5.

AFP quoted an unnamed source as saying the sanctioned ships were found to be carrying coal, seafood and iron ore, items banned by a UN resolution in August. North Korean diplomats were also present at the meeting but did not make statements.

Meanwhile, regarding the tense situation on the Korean Peninsula, on October 9, US Secretary of Defense James Mattis said that predicting the future of the North Korean crisis is impossible, but asked US forces to be ready for all worst-case scenarios, including the risk of a military conflict with North Korea.

Speaking at the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) annual meeting and exhibition in Washington, Secretary Mattis said that currently, diplomacy remains the priority, along with economic sanctions, in dealing with North Korea. But in the future, the US Army's mission is to ensure that Washington "has military options if necessary."

The Pentagon chief's warning comes amid concerns that North Korea could conduct another long-range missile test on October 10, the anniversary of the founding of the Workers' Party. North Korea has conducted more than 12 missile tests this year and detonated its most powerful hydrogen bomb to date on September 3./.

According to Vietnam+