US sanctions China-based network over links to North Korea space and missile programmes

The US announced on Wednesday a new wave of sanctions against Chinese entities for allegedly violating UN Security Council resolutions by supplying North Korea with inputs for ballistic missiles, the second such action in little more than a month.

The UN Security Council issued numerous sanctions and condemnations against Pyongyang in 2017 in response to a series of missile launches and nuclear tests conducted by the country.

At the time, concern over how far North Korean leader Kim Jong-un would go with his nuclear weapons programme overcame resistance from Moscow and Beijing, and the path to a consensus often pitted Washington’s then-UN ambassador Nikki Haley against her Russian and Chinese counterparts, Vassily Nebenzia and Liu Jieyi.

The United States unveiled sanctions on Wednesday against a network of half a dozen people and five firms in China it accuses of supporting North Korea’s ballistic missile and space programmes.

The network is alleged to have helped North Korea with procuring items for its ballistic missile programmes, which the US Treasury Department said were being operated in “flagrant violation” of UN Security Council resolutions.

North Korea’s continued development of its ballistic missile technologies “is both irresponsible and destabilising for both the region and the international community”, Treasury under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence Brian Nelson said in a statement.

“The United States remains committed to using our tools to enforce these international sanctions, including disrupting the illicit procurement networks that provide key inputs for these technologies,” he added.

The US Treasury said North Korea’s space and ballistic missile programmes made use of an “extensive network” of overseas agents to procure the foreign-sourced materials needed, which included personnel at its diplomatic missions and trade offices, “as well as third-country nationals”.

It also makes use of foreign firms to purchase the items it needs, the Treasury added.

Among those sanctioned by the Treasury on Wednesday was Shi Qianpei, a Chinese national, whom the department accused of working with a previously designated individual based in Beijing to procure metal sheets used in the production of North Korean missiles.

Other individuals sanctioned include Chen Tianxin, Shi Qianpei’s business partner and wife, and two of his employees, all of whom helped with the procurement efforts, the Treasury said.