The United States announced on Thursday a reward of up to 5 million US dollars for information on a Singaporean national who helped deliver fuel to North Korea to circumvent UN bans, Washington said.
Kwek Ki Seng, according to Washington, was involved in an extensive scheme to evade US and UN sanctions by secretly shipping fuel to North Korea through Singapore-based shipping agency Swanseas Port Services.
According to Gonzalo Suarez, Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Security, “North Korea employs a wide range of proliferation networks, such as the one directed by Mr Kwek Kee Seng, to collect revenue from overseas operations to support a WMD program, including a ballistic missile program.”
Gonzalo Suarez also suggested that Russia and China should become more involved in implementing UN sanctions.
“There’s been multiple UN Security Council resolutions specifically targeting North Korean proliferation that all UN member-states have an obligation to uphold and prevent violations. Russia is not exempt from that obligation. Neither is China. And it would be useful if China and Russia had more active roles in preventing proliferation related to North Korea,” he said.
According to Washington, North Korea launched more than 50 ballistic missiles on Thursday.
