Taiwan tells US ‘it is complying’ with international N. Korea sanctions

Taiwan is complying with international sanctions against North Korea, a senior Taiwanese security official told the US’ deputy representative for North Korea on Tuesday, having previously been called out for breaking them.

Tsai Ming-yen, deputy secretary-general of Taiwan’s National Security Council, told Alex Wong, the US State Department’s deputy assistant secretary for North Korea, during a teleconference that Taipei “will continue to closely cooperate with the US, and carry out and implement actions to comply with international sanctions against North Korea.”

Independent UN monitors said in 2018 that they had investigated cases of ship-to-ship transfers of petroleum products in violation of sanctions, adding that the network behind the vessels was primarily based in Taiwan.

Taiwan has called on its companies to comply with UN sanctions, and in 2017 it suspended refined oil and LNG exports to North Korea, as well as clothing and textile imports.