S. Korean ship detained for alleged violation of UN sanctions – Seoul

A South Korean ship has been detained for six months on suspicion of violating UN sanctions against the nuclear-armed North, the Foreign Ministry in Seoul said on Wednesday. Pyongyang is sanctioned over its weapons program under UN Security Council resolutions, which include curbs on shipments of oil and fuel to the isolated regime. The South Korean ship and three others had been detained in the country, suspected of undermining the economic measures against the North, Seoul said. “This is the first time a South Korean vessel has been detained for allegedly violating UN sanctions,” a ministry official told AFP. The ship has been held in the southern port of Busan since last October. It is suspected of carrying out an illicit ship-to-ship transfer of oil to a North Korean tanker.