Seoul (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Despite the international ban, North Korea is selling components for
the construction of short and medium range missiles to Syria. This was revealed by
a UN report quoted
by Japanese Kyodo agency. The Report states that last
May the authorities in South
Korea have intercepted a ship
flying the Chinese flag in the
port of Busan carrying cylinders of graphite needed
for ballistic missiles. The load came from North Korea and
was headed to Syria.
According to UN diplomats,
the Chinese frigate (which set sail from Shanghai) is currently
at anchor in the south of the peninsula. According to international
law, in fact, the UN ban on the
sale or purchase of weapons by
Pyongyang "can not be circumvented by third countries." The U.S.
State Department said this
morning that it "can not comment"
the issue, while a UN official added
that the news "was reserved and must remain so."
However, these missiles have reignited the debate about sanctions
imposed on the Kim regime. Without the
effective cooperation of China, in fact, they are waste paper: Beijing is in fact the last ally of the Stalinist government,
to which it sends (albeit less
regularly), food aid and energy. For its part, Pyongyang continues to defy the world, there are growing reports that in April
the government carried out "at
least two" long-range missile tests.