United Nations: UN experts say North Korea is flouting UN sanctions by expanding its nuclear arsenal and ballistic missile program and by exporting coal and illegally importing refined petroleum products in excess of its annual quota.
The experts said in key sections of a report obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press that North Korea has also evaded sanctions through targeted cyber attacks against officials of countries on the UN Security Council and on members of its expert panel.
They did not elaborate or identify which of the 15 council nations were targeted.
In the report to the Security Council, the experts said North Korea has maintained its nuclear facilities and continues to produce fissile material, including highly enriched uranium, that can be used in nuclear weapons.
It has also continued to develop infrastructure and capacity for its ballistic missile program and moved ahead on construction of an experimental light water reactor, they said.
The independent panel quoted several unidentified countries as saying North Korea has probably developed miniaturized nuclear weapons that can fit into its ballistic missiles.
One unnamed country says Pyongyang may seek to further develop miniaturization of components in order to allow incorporation of technological improvements … or, potentially, to develop multiple warhead systems, the experts said.
The panel’s report was issued as US efforts to get North Korea to rein in its nuclear and ballistic missile programs remain stalled, with little prospect of a new summit between President Donald Trump and Pyongyang’s leader Kim Jong Un before the US presidential election in November.
Trump and Kim have met three times since embarking on high-stakes nuclear diplomacy in 2018, beginning with their meeting in Singapore where they issued vague vows for a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula without describing when and how it would occur. (AP)
