Iran hits back at US demands on ballistic missiles, proxy groups - Aljazeera.com

Iran has hit back at US President Donald Trump's call for new nuclear negotiations that encompass its ballistic missiles programme, accusing Washington of bringing the Middle East to the brink of "explosion" by selling arms to allies in the Gulf.

Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's foreign minister, made the comment in a wide-ranging interview that aired on NBC News on Monday.

He said Iran would only sit down with the United States if it lifted punishing economic sanctions it has imposed on Tehran and rejoined the 2015 nuclear deal it abandoned last year.

Trump had pulled the US out of the landmark multilateral accord saying he wanted to negotiate a new deal that also addressed Iran's ballistic missiles programme and support for armed groups in the region.

190701222356690

Zarif, who is in New York on a visit to the United Nations, told NBC it was the US and its allies - Saudia Arabia and the United Arab Emirates - who were to blame for turmoil in the Middle East.

"If you want to discuss ballistic missiles, then we need to discuss the amount of weapons sold to our region," he said. 

"Last year, Iran spent $16bn altogether on its military, we have a 82 million population. UAE, with a million population, spent $22bn. Saudi Arabia - with less than half of [Iran's] population - spent $67bn, most of them are American [arms].

"These are American weaponry that is going into our region, making our region ready to explode. So if they want to talk about our missiles, they need first to stop selling all these weapons including missiles to our region."

'Door wide open'

When NBC journalist Lester Holt further pressed Zarif on the issue, referring to Iran's support for armed groups in the region, the minister brought up the Saudi-led interventions in Yemen and Bahrain.

"Let me ask you - who's bombing Yemen? Who's invading Bahrain? Who kept the prime minister of another country a prisoner," Zarif asked.

"Are we involved at all in North Africa? ... Why do you have chaos in Libya? Is Iran involved in Libya? ... in Sudan? ... in Algeria? Why do we have all this turmoil? I believe if you want to look at the right place for those who have malign activity in our region, the US needs to look at its own allies, not at Iran."

Zarif, who is also facing US sanctions, reiterated Tehran did not want a war with Washington and urged Trump to lift the crippling measures against Iran to begin talks.

"Once those sanctions are lifted, then ... the door for negotiations is wide open," Zarif said. "It is the United States that left the bargaining table. And they're always welcome to return."

In the year since the US exited the nuclear deal - a move opposed by the pact's remaining signatories - Washington has tightened sanctions on Iran, including on its oil and banking sectors.

In May, Washington also sent warships, bombers and thousands of additional troops to the Gulf, citing unspecified threats from Iran. Tensions have since soared, with the US calling off air raids against Iran at the last minute after Tehran downed a US spy plane that it said encroached on its airspace in June, a claim Washington denies. 

When asked if Trump's decision to halt air raids amounted to a diplomatic overture, Zarif said: "It’s not an overture if you decide not to commit another act of aggression against a country that is capable of defending itself." 

Vowing to continue resisting "aggression", Zarif said Iranians will "find a way to circumvent the pressure through relying on their own resources, on their own capabilities, and on their own talent".

The Islamic Republic, which has been under a variety of sanctions since its founding in 1979, invested in its ballistic missiles and nuclear programmes because of those sanctions, he added. But he warned: "Of course when there is tension, there is tension for everybody. Nobody is immune in a tense environment."

The new US sanctions have plunged the Iranian economy into crisis, and caused a shortage in critical medicines, Zarif said, a move he said has put Iranian people under "huge humanitarian pressure". 

"They are terrorising our people. They are targeting ordinary Iranian civilians. That's worse than war," he added. 

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2019-07-16 11:06:00Z
52780333106748

North Korea hints it may resume nuclear testing, accuses U.S. of reneging on pact - The Washington Post

SEOUL — North Korea warned Tuesday that planned military exercises involving U.S. and South Korean forces would jeopardize proposed disarmament talks with Washington, and hinted it might respond by resuming nuclear and missile tests.

In a statement, the North’s Foreign Ministry accused the United States of violating the spirit of negotiations between President Trump and dictator Kim Jong Un by proceeding with military maneuvers scheduled for next month. At their first meeting in Singapore last year, Trump agreed to suspend major exercises with South Korea to avoid provoking Pyongyang.

The North said its moratorium on nuclear and missile tests was a commitment it made in return to improve bilateral relations, “not a legal document inscribed on paper.”

“With the U.S. unilaterally reneging on its commitments, we are gradually losing our justification to follow through on the commitments we made with the U.S.,” it said.

Pyongyang last launched a long-range missile in November 2017, although it has tested shorter-range weapons since then. Its last nuclear test was in September 2017.

North Korea has long criticized U.S.-South Korean military exercises, viewing them as rehearsals for an invasion.

The allies have planned to conduct combined maneuvers, known as Dong Maeng, in coming weeks. North Korea said that going ahead with the drills would affect plans for working-level talks with the United States.

[Trump, Kim meet at Korean demilitarized zone]

The North’s statement appeared aimed at pressuring the United States, which has sought to revive diplomacy with Pyongyang since the second Trump-Kim summit in Hanoi in February ended without a deal.

The two leaders met again at the inter-Korean demilitarized zone last month and moved to get diplomacy back on track.

“What is going to happen is over the next two or three weeks, the teams are going to start working to see whether or not they can do something,” Trump said after the June 30 meeting, in which he became the first sitting U.S. president to set foot in North Korea.

Since that summit, there hasn’t been any official meeting between working-level negotiators of the two countries, prompting worries about the sustainability of their diplomacy and the prospects of a deal.

“The U.S.-South Korean military exercises have already been toned down in scale and substance in order not to provoke North Korea,” said Shin Beom-chul, a researcher at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul. “North Korea is trying to pick a hole in order to raise its leverage in working-level negotiations with the United States.”

[Trump, Kim cut short Hanoi summit without a deal on denuclearization]

The U.S. military command in South Korea said Tuesday that U.S. forces would continue to train in a combined manner while adjusting the scale and timing of military exercises in concert with diplomatic efforts.

“As a matter of standard operating procedure, and in order to preserve space for diplomacy to work, we do not discuss any planned training or exercises publicly,” it said.

The United States wants North Korea to take concrete steps toward denuclearization before it is willing to ease sanctions that limit Pyongyang’s trade. Kim has said he wants to develop his economy — a goal that remains largely out of reach while his nation is shackled by sanctions.

In an interview with Fox News on Monday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he hoped the North Koreans would come to the table for fresh negotiations, and he voiced hope that both sides might bring new ideas to help break the impasse.

“The president’s mission hasn’t changed: to fully and finally denuclearize North Korea in a way that we can verify,” he said.

Read more

Trump, Kim meet at Korean demilitarized zone

Trump and Kim cut short Hanoi summit without deal on denuclearization

Joint statement from Trump-Kim summit in Singapore

Today’s coverage from Post correspondents around the world

Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news

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2019-07-16 09:36:38Z
52780333396417

Iran hits back at US demands on ballistic missiles, proxy groups - Aljazeera.com

Iran has hit back at US President Donald Trump's call for new nuclear negotiations that encompass its ballistic missiles programme, accusing Washington of bringing the Middle East to the brink of "explosion" by selling arms to allies in the Gulf.

Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's foreign minister, made the comment in a wide-ranging interview that aired on NBC News on Monday.

He said Iran would only sit down with the United States if it lifted punishing economic sanctions it has imposed on Tehran and rejoined the 2015 nuclear deal it abandoned last year.

Trump had pulled the US out of the landmark multi-lateral accord saying he wanted to negotiate a new deal that also addressed Iran's ballistic missiles programme and support for armed groups in the region.

190701222356690

Zarif, who is in New York for a visit to the United Nations, told NBC it was the US and its allies - Saudia Arabia and the United Arab Emirates - who were to blame for turmoil in the Middle East.  

"If you want to discuss ballistic missiles, then we need to discuss the amount of weapons sold to our region," he said. 

"Last year Iran spent $16bn altogether on its military, we have a 82 million population. UAE, with a million population, spent $22bn. Saudi Arabia - with less than half of [Iran's] population - spent $67bn, most of them are American [arms].

"These are American weaponry that is going into our region, making our region ready to explode. So if they want to talk about our missiles, they need first to stop selling all these weapons including missiles to our region."

'Door wide open'

'Not significant': EU urges Iran to reverse nuclear deal breaches

When NBC journalist Lester Holt further pressed Zarif on the issue, referring to Iran's support for armed groups in the region, the minister brought up the Saudi-led interventions in Yemen and Bahrain

"Let me ask you - who's bombing Yemen? Who's invading Bahrain? Who kept the prime minister of another country a prisoner?" Zarif asked.

"Are we involved at all in North Africa? ... Why do you have chaos in Libya? Is Iran involved in Libya? ... in Sudan? ... in Algeria? Why do we have all this turmoil? I believe if you want to look at the right place for those who have malign activity in our region, the US needs to look at its own allies, not at Iran."

Zarif, who is also facing US sanctions, reiterated Tehran did not want a war with Washington and urged Trump to lift the crippling measures against Iran to begin talks.

"Once those sanctions are lifted, then ... the door for negotiations is wide open," Zarif said. "It is the United States that left the bargaining table. And they're always welcome to return."

In the year since the US exited the nuclear deal - a move opposed by the pact's remaining signatories - Washington has tightened sanctions on Iran, including on its oil and banking sectors.

In May, Washington also sent warships, bombers and thousands of additional troops to the Gulf, citing unspecified threats from Iran. Tensions have since soared, with the US calling off air raids against Iran at the last minute after Tehran downed a US spy plane that it said encroached on its airspace in June, a claim Washington denies. 

When asked if Trump's decision to halt air raids amounted to a diplomatic overture, Zarif said: "It’s not an overture if you decide not to commit another act of aggression against a country that is capable of defending itself." 

Vowing to continue resisting "aggression", Zarif said Iranian will "find a way to circumvent the pressure through relying on their own resources, on their own capabilities, and on their own talent."

The Islamic Republic, which has been under a variety of sanctions since its founding in 1979, invested in its own ballistic missiles and nuclear programmes because of those sanctions, he added. But he warned: "Of course when there is tension, there is tension for everybody. Nobody is immune in a tense environment."

The new US sanctions have plunged the Iranian economy into crisis, and caused a shortage in critical medicines, Zarif said, a move he said has put Iranian people under "huge humanitarian pressure". 

"They are terrorising our people. They are targeting ordinary Iranian civilians. That's worse than war," he added. 

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2019-07-16 10:59:00Z
52780333106748

System Under Strain: How the U.S. Actually Manages the Thousands of Migrant Families Entering Each Day - The Wall Street Journal

By

Jessica Wang and

Alicia A. Caldwell | Graphics by Jessica Wang/The Wall Street Journal

Alicia A. Caldwell
The Wall Street Journal
• Biography
• @acaldwellwsj
• alicia.caldwell@wsj.com

July 16, 2019 5:30 am ET

The record number of families entering the U.S. and requesting asylum has overloaded a border enforcement system not designed to safely and quickly process them. Here is a step-by-step look at the process families go through and where the system is straining.

Port of entry

Waiting time: weeks to months

Upon arriving at the border, asylum seekers wait for weeks or months in Mexico just to enter the U.S. The long wait times are due to “metering,” a Trump administration policy that sets limits on the number of people who can enter each day.

Between ports of entry

The other route most migrants take is crossing illegally between the checkpoints. Most of them are from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.

Families typically surrender to Border Patrol agents upon crossing to begin the asylum process. Those who opt to evade authorities are usually single adults seeking work. The 688,000 people apprehended at the border since the federal fiscal year began in October includes 390,000 traveling as families, the highest level on record.

Crossing the port

Once allowed in, migrants are taken into custody by Customs and Border Protection, or CBP, and start the asylum process.

Customs and Border Protection facilities

Migrants are then held in Border Patrol stations until they are either sent to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, better known as ICE, or released. By law, the Border Patrol isn’t supposed to hold people for more than 72 hours. But the surge of migrants has caused overcrowding and holding times of weeks or longer.

Supposed to be 72 hours

Can be a week or few weeks

Facilities for those who enter through the ports are less crowded because of the “metering” policy.

To manage the overflow, authorities have opened tent camps, put children in cells for nearly a month, and in one case had migrants wait under a bridge, drawing criticism for conditions described as unclean and unsafe.

One of three things could happen from here.

Detained by ICE

Up to 20 days

Some families are sent to ICE where they can be held in a family detention center and start their immigration court proceedings. They must be released after 20 days, long before an asylum case can be completed. When single adults are sent to ICE, they are often deported or later released on bond.

Sent to Mexico

Can be from weeks to months

Some are sent to wait in Mexico for their first court appearance under a program launched by the Trump administration called the Migration Protection Protocols, often referred to as Remain in Mexico.

Sent to shelter or charity

Few days

Some are released directly to a shelter or charity, which arrange travel for migrants so they can meet up with friends or relatives in the U.S. as they wait for their first court appearance. Families sent to ICE first are sent here after.

Going to court

Migrants get their day in court. If for some reason the appearance doesn’t happen—whether they miss it, their lawyer has a conflict or their translator doesn’t show—the case goes to the back of the line. People wait for months or years for another date. There is a backlog of more than 908,000 cases pending in federal immigration court.

The process continues

Often more than a couple years

Multiple hearings will follow. The final hearing and decision can take years. The national average wait time is about 727 days, though the average wait eclipses 1,100 days in San Antonio and 1,000 days in Imperial, Calif., according to government data collected by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University.

In the meantime, most families will live in the U.S., many with work permits that allow them to legally hold a job while they wait for a final ruling.

Port of entry

Waiting time: weeks to months

Upon arriving at the border, asylum seekers wait for weeks or months in Mexico just to enter the U.S. The long wait times are due to “metering,” a Trump administration policy that sets limits on the number of people who can enter each day.

Between ports of entry

The other route most migrants take is crossing illegally between the checkpoints. Most of them are from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.

Families typically surrender to Border Patrol agents upon crossing to begin the asylum process. Those who opt to evade authorities are usually single adults seeking work. The 688,000 people apprehended at the border since the federal fiscal year began in October includes 390,000 traveling as families, the highest level on record.

Crossing the port

Once allowed in, migrants are taken into custody by Customs and Border Protection, or CBP, and start the asylum process.

Customs and Border Protection facilities

Migrants are then held in Border Patrol stations until they are either sent to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, better known as ICE, or released. By law, the Border Patrol isn’t supposed to hold people for more than 72 hours. But the surge of migrants has caused overcrowding and holding times of weeks or longer.

Supposed to be 72 hours

Can be a week or few weeks

Facilities for those who enter through the ports are less crowded because of the “metering” policy.

To manage the overflow, authorities have opened tent camps, put children in cells for nearly a month, and in one case had migrants wait under a bridge, drawing criticism for conditions described as unclean and unsafe.

One of three things could happen from here.

Detained by ICE

Up to 20 days

Some families are sent to ICE where they can be held in a family detention center and start their immigration court proceedings. They must be released after 20 days, long before an asylum case can be completed. When single adults are sent to ICE, they are often deported or later released on bond.

Sent to Mexico

Can be from weeks to months

Some are sent to wait in Mexico for their first court appearance under a program launched by the Trump administration called the Migration Protection Protocols, often referred to as Remain in Mexico.

Sent to shelter or charity

Few days

Some are released directly to a shelter or charity, which arrange travel for migrants so they can meet up with friends or relatives in the U.S. as they wait for their first court appearance. Families sent to ICE first are sent here after.

Going to court

Migrants get their day in court. If for some reason the appearance doesn’t happen—whether they miss it, their lawyer has a conflict or their translator doesn’t show—the case goes to the back of the line. People wait for months or years for another date. There is a backlog of more than 908,000 cases pending in federal immigration court.

The process continues

Often more than a couple years

Multiple hearings will follow. The final hearing and decision can take years. The national average wait time is about 727 days, though the average wait eclipses 1,100 days in San Antonio and 1,000 days in Imperial, Calif., according to government data collected by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University.

In the meantime, most families will live in the U.S., many with work permits that allow them to legally hold a job while they wait for a final ruling.

Port of entry

Waiting time: weeks to months

Upon arriving at the border, asylum seekers wait for weeks or months in Mexico just to enter the U.S. The long wait times are due to “metering,” a Trump administration policy that sets limits on the number of people who can enter each day.

Between ports of entry

The other route most migrants take is crossing illegally between the checkpoints. Most of them are from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.

Families typically surrender to Border Patrol agents upon crossing to begin the asylum process. Those who opt to evade authorities are usually single adults seeking work. The 688,000 people apprehended at the border since the federal fiscal year began in October includes 390,000 traveling as families, the highest level on record.

Crossing the port

Once allowed in, migrants are taken into custody by Customs and Border Protection, or CBP, and start the asylum process.

Customs and Border Protection facilities

Migrants are then held in Border Patrol stations until they are either sent to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, better known as ICE, or released. By law, the Border Patrol isn’t supposed to hold people for more than 72 hours. But the surge of migrants has caused overcrowding and holding times of weeks or longer.

Supposed to be 72 hours

Can be a week or few weeks

Facilities for those who enter through the ports are less crowded because of the “metering” policy.

To manage the overflow, authorities have opened tent camps, put children in cells for nearly a month, and in one case had migrants wait under a bridge, drawing criticism for conditions described as unclean and unsafe.

One of three things could happen from here.

Detained by ICE

Up to 20 days

Some families are sent to ICE where they can be held in a family detention center and start their immigration court proceedings. They must be released after 20 days, long before an asylum case can be completed. When single adults are sent to ICE, they are often deported or later released on bond.

Sent to Mexico

Can be from weeks to months

Some are sent to wait in Mexico for their first court appearance under a program launched by the Trump administration called the Migration Protection Protocols, often referred to as Remain in Mexico.

Sent to shelter or charity

Few days

Some are released directly to a shelter or charity, which arrange travel for migrants so they can meet up with friends or relatives in the U.S. as they wait for their first court appearance. Families sent to ICE first are sent here after.

Going to court

Migrants get their day in court. If for some reason the appearance doesn’t happen—whether they miss it, their lawyer has a conflict or their translator doesn’t show—the case goes to the back of the line. People wait for months or years for another date. There is a backlog of more than 908,000 cases pending in federal immigration court.

The process continues

Often more than a couple years

Multiple hearings will follow. The final hearing and decision can take years. The national average wait time is about 727 days, though the average wait eclipses 1,100 days in San Antonio and 1,000 days in Imperial, Calif., according to government data collected by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University.

In the meantime, most families will live in the U.S., many with work permits that allow them to legally hold a job while they wait for a final ruling.

Port of entry

Waiting time:

weeks to months

Upon arriving at the border, asylum seekers wait for weeks or months in Mexico just to enter the U.S. The long wait times are due to “metering,” a Trump administration policy that sets limits on the number of people who can enter each day.

Between ports

The other route most migrants take is crossing illegally between the checkpoints. Most of them are from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, according to U.S. government data.

Families typically surrender to Border Patrol agents upon crossing to begin the asylum process. Those who opt to evade authorities are usually single adults seeking work. The 688,000 people apprehended at the border since the federal fiscal year began in October includes 390,000 traveling as families, the highest level on record.

Crossing the port

Once allowed in, migrants are taken into custody by Customs and Border Protection, or CBP, and start the asylum process.

Customs and Border Protection facilities

Migrants are then held in Border Patrol stations until they are either sent to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, better known as ICE, or released. By law, the Border Patrol isn’t supposed to hold people for more than 72 hours. But the surge of migrants has caused overcrowding and holding times of weeks or longer.

Supposed to be

72 hours

Can be a week or

few weeks

Facilities for those who enter through the ports are less crowded because of the “metering” policy.

To manage the overflow, authorities have opened tent camps, put children in cells for nearly a month, and in one case had migrants wait under a bridge, drawing criticism for conditions described as unclean and unsafe.

One of three things could happen from here.

Sent to Mexico

Detained by ICE

Up to 20 days

Can be from weeks

to months

Some families are sent to ICE where they can be held in a family detention center and start their immigration court proceedings. They must be released after 20 days, long before an asylum case can be completed. When single adults are sent to ICE, they are often deported or later released on bond.

Some are sent to wait in Mexico for their first court appearance under a program launched by the Trump administration called the Migration Protection Protocols, often referred to as Remain in Mexico.

Sent to shelter or charity

Few days

Some are released directly to a shelter or charity, which arrange travel for migrants so they can meet up with friends or relatives in the U.S. as they wait for their first court appearance. Families sent to ICE first are sent here after.

Going to court

Migrants get their day in court. If for some reason the appearance doesn’t happen—whether they miss it, their lawyer has a conflict or their translator doesn’t show—the case goes to the back of the line. People wait for months or years for another date. There is a backlog of more than 908,000 cases pending in federal immigration court.

The process continues

Often more than a couple years

Multiple hearings will follow. The final hearing and decision can take years. The national average wait time is about 727 days, though the average wait eclipses 1,100 days in San Antonio and 1,000 days in Imperial, Calif., according to government data collected by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University.

In the meantime, most families will live in the U.S., many with work permits that allow them to legally hold a job while they wait for a final ruling.

Share Your Thoughts

What is your biggest concern about the current immigration process in the U.S.? Join the conversation below.

Copyright ©2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

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2019-07-16 09:30:00Z
52780332330171

How North Korea’s Leader Gets His Luxury Cars - The New York Times

WASHINGTON — The armored black limousines appear everywhere with Kim Jong-un, sleek Western chariots for the young dictator of North Korea.

Flown in from the North Korean capital of Pyongyang on a cargo plane, the sedans carried Mr. Kim through the streets of Singapore, Hanoi and Vladivostok during summit meetings with President Trump and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. Sometimes a phalanx of bodyguards jogs beside them.

The cars are top-of-the-line Mercedes-Benzes — the Maybach S600 Pullman Guard and the Maybach S62, popular with world leaders and costing up to $1.6 million each. And Mr. Kim is using them in open defiance of United Nations sanctions intended to ban luxury goods from North Korea.

High-end Western goods are making their way to North Korea’s elite through a complex system of port transfers, secret high-seas shipping and shadowy front companies, according to research by the Center for Advanced Defense Studies, a nonprofit Washington group that looks at smuggling networks, and an investigation by The New York Times.

The evasions point to potential limits of sanctions as a tool for the Trump administration to pressure Pyongyang into serious negotiations to end its nuclear weapons program. American officials say their only real leverage with North Korea is tough sanctions. During the failed summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, in February, Mr. Kim’s main demand of Mr. Trump was to lift major sanctions, which have been tightened since late 2016.

At the request of President George W. Bush’s administration, the United Nations imposed sanctions in 2006 to keep luxury goods out of North Korea.

Image

Kim Jong-un’s motorcade, including a Mercedes that sanctions should bar North Korea from importing, in Singapore before a summit between Mr. Kim and President Trump in June 2018.CreditJoseph Nair/Associated Press

But from 2015 to 2017, as many as 90 countries served as the sources of luxury goods for North Koreans, according to a report released on Tuesday by the Center for Advanced Defense Studies. Moreover, the networks and supply chains run through the territories of some United Nations Security Council member nations and American allies — China, Russia, Japan and South Korea among them.

Both President Xi Jinping of China and President Moon Jae-in of South Korea rode with Mr. Kim in Mercedes-Benz sedans on recent visits to Pyongyang.

For officials seeking to enforce the sanctions, it is important to track the smuggling of luxury goods — especially of rare items such as armored cars — because North Korea uses similar techniques to obtain dual-use technology for its nuclear weapons program, sanctions experts say. Analysts say North Korea continues to enrich uranium to increase its arsenal of an estimated 30 to 60 warheads.

“When it comes to sanctions evasions, North Korea relies on a sophisticated but small group of trusted individuals that move any goods required by the state, whether it’s luxury goods or components for missiles, or whether it’s arranging for trade of resources,” Neil Watts, a maritime expert and former member of the United Nations panel on North Korea sanctions enforcement, said, speaking generally about patterns of illicit trade into the country.

The United Nations panel noted in its annual report this year the appearance of limousines made by Mercedes-Benz and Rolls-Royce in Pyongyang. Last October, in Pyongyang, Mr. Kim got out of a Rolls-Royce Phantom limousine to greet Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

The journey taken by a pair of armored Mercedes Maybach S600 sedans from Europe to East Asia illustrates how one of the luxury-goods transportation networks operated. The Center for Advanced Defense Studies and The Times traced their path through five countries using open-source material, including shipping records and satellite images.

Image

Mr. Kim’s main demand of Mr. Trump in nuclear negotiations has been to lift major sanctions, which have tightened since late 2016.CreditPool photo by Sergei Ilnitsky

Interviews with officials and business executives confirmed some of the details of the network. In February, South Korean officials seized a Russian-owned ship that had transported the cars.

The globe-spanning voyage began in the port of Rotterdam, the Netherlands. In June 2018, two sealed containers, each holding a Mercedes worth $500,000, were brought by truck into a shipping terminal, according to cargo tracking records. They were in the custody of China Cosco Shipping Corporation. It was unclear who had first purchased the cars. Daimler, the parent company of Mercedes, says Mercedes runs background checks on potential buyers of the vehicles to ensure the company is not selling to sanctions violators.

The cars traveled by ship for 41 days to Dalian, in northeast China. The containers were off-loaded after the ship’s arrival on July 31. They remained in the port until Aug. 26. They were then put on a ship for Osaka, Japan. From there, they were put on a vessel for a three-day voyage to Busan, South Korea, where they arrived on Sept. 30.

Then came the most mysterious part of the passage. The containers were transferred within one day of arrival to the DN5505, a cargo ship sailing under the flag of Togo, a West African nation, and bound for the port of Nakhodka in the far east of Russia. At this point, the cars were consigned to Do Young Shipping, a company registered in the Marshall Islands that owns the DN5505 and one other ship, the Panama-flagged oil tanker Katrin.

Do Young’s ownership is not clear from its registration but appears to be tied to a Russian businessman, Danil Kazachuk, documents and interviews show. Executives at Han Trade and AIP Korea, the South Korean shipping agencies that worked with the two ships, said Mr. Kazachuk was the ships’ owner. Documents obtained by the Center for Advanced Defense Studies show Mr. Kazachuk was listed as the owner of the Katrin for about one month in 2018.

The ship with the cars, the DN5505, was originally called Xiang Jin, but it was renamed DN5505 and its ownership transferred from a Hong Kong-registered company to Do Young on July 27, just days before the two sedans arrived in Dalian.

A Smuggling Network to North Korea

A shipment of luxury cars eventually reached East Asia from the Netherlands, and may have ended up in Pyongyang, in violation of United Nations sanctions.

On June 20, 2018, two luxury Mercedes-Benz cars were loaded onto a container ship in Rotterdam, Netherlands.

1

The DN5505 appeared to have gone to Nakhodka, Russia, according to ship data and customs records.

In Osaka, Japan, they were put on another ship.

5

3

North Korean jets may have taken the cars to Pyongyang, North Korea. On Jan. 31, 2019, the same models of Mercedes appeared with Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang.

6

4

After 41 days, the cars arrived in Dalian, China, and were transferred to another cargo ship.

2

In Busan, South Korea, the cars were loaded onto a cargo vessel, the DN5505.

5

1

6

Russia

3

2

4

China

1. On June 20, 2018, two luxury Mercedes-Benz cars were loaded onto a container ship in Rotterdam, Netherlands.

2. After 41 days, the cars arrived in Dalian, China, and were transferred to another cargo ship.

3. In Osaka, Japan, they were put on another ship.

4. In Busan, South Korea, the cars were loaded onto a cargo vessel, the DN5505.

5. The DN5505 appeared to have gone to Nakhodka, Russia, according to ship data and customs records.

6. North Korean jets may have taken the cars to Pyongyang, North Korea. On Jan. 31, 2019, the same models of Mercedes appeared with Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang.

Source: Center for Advanced Defense Studies

By The New York Times

After leaving Busan on Oct. 1 with the sedans, the ship went dark — its automatic identification system stopped transmitting a signal. That is common practice among ships evading sanctions.

The signal stayed off for 18 days. When it came back on again, the ship was in South Korean waters. Now it was on a return trip to Busan, but laden with 2,588 metric tons of coal, which it later unloaded in another South Korean port, Pohang. Customs records in South Korea showed that the ship had taken on the coal in Nakhodka, the report from the Center for Advanced Defense Studies said.

That port city is next to Vladivostok, where Mr. Kazachuk is based. Ship traffic data and shipping agency executives said the ship had reported Nakhodka as its destination after leaving Busan with the cars.

The center’s report did not say with certainty what happened there with the sedans. But the researchers say the cars might have been flown from Russia to North Korea. On Oct. 7, three cargo jets from Air Koryo, North Korea’s state-run airline, arrived in Vladivostok, according to a video online and flight tracking data. (That happened to be the same day Mr. Kim drove in a Rolls-Royce through Pyongyang to meet with Mr. Pompeo.)

It is rare for North Korean cargo planes to fly to Vladivostok. The jets are the exact same airplanes used to transport Mr. Kim’s vehicles outside North Korea, according to tail numbers.

“Given the heavy lift cargo capacity of the planes and their role in transporting Kim Jong-un’s armored limousines, it is possible that the cargo jets could have loaded the Mercedes,” the report said.

Image

A detail of Mr. Kim’s Mercedes limousine in Vladivostok, Russia. The cars are popular with world leaders and cost up to $1.6 million each.CreditAlexander Khitrov/Associated Press

Four months later, on Jan. 31, 2019, the same model of Mercedes drove through the streets of Pyongyang to the headquarters of the central committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea, according to video footage analyzed by NK Pro. The sedans also appeared that day alongside Mr. Kim in a photo session with an art delegation.

In a telephone interview, Mr. Kazachuk acknowledged that he was responsible for the DN5505, but declined to give details about the shipment of the cars or say how or whether he had transferred them to North Korea.

“This is my company’s business secret,” he said. “Why do I need to tell everybody where I bought these cars and to whom I sold the cars?”

There is no evidence tying Mr. Kazachuk to the movement of military technology or goods to North Korea, but international sanctions experts say the Russian Far East is a common transit point for smuggled goods going to and from North Korea.

In February, the South Korean authorities seized the DN5505 and the Katrin in separate actions because of suspected sanctions violations. The DN5505 had docked in Pohang, South Korea, carrying more than 3,200 tons of coal after sailing from Nakhodka. Officials told employees of the South Korea shipping agency handling the ship that it was being investigated for carrying North Korean coal. The other ship, the Katrin, was accused of bringing petroleum products to North Korea.

Mr. Kazachuk said he as a shipowner was not responsible for what the ships carried. He also said the South Korean authorities were engaged in a “state racket” and might have planted evidence on the ships. “The South Korean police spit from a high bell tower on basic human rights,” he said.

Image

Mr. Kim’s limousine. From 2015 to 2017, as many as 90 countries served as the sources of luxury goods for North Koreans.CreditBrendan Smialowski/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

There is another tie between his ships and suspected sanctions violations. Last fall, when the DN5505 dropped off its shipment of coal in Pohang, on the return trip after having unloaded the two sedans, a company called Enermax Korea took possession of the coal.

The United Nations panel has been investigating Enermax, registered in South Korea, for sanctions violations.

The panel’s 2019 report said Enermax appeared to be the final recipient of North Korean coal that was intended to be transferred in April 2018 in Indonesian waters by a North Korean-flagged ship, the Wise Honest, to a Russian cargo ship. The Indonesian authorities detained the Wise Honest around April 1.

Enermax had signed a contract to buy the coal from a Hong Kong-registered company, yet told the panel that it was buying Indonesian coal from someone who appeared to be a local broker in Indonesia.

The sales contract valued the coal at nearly $3 million.

In May, the United States announced it was seizing the Wise Honest.

In an interview, Enermax executives said the deal with the Indonesian broker fell apart and no money exchanged hands. They also said they had thought the coal delivered to South Korea by the DN5505 both last October — right after the Mercedes were unloaded — and this February was Russian in origin. They said Mr. Kazachuk had told them the coal was from Russia.

The South Korean authorities have seized at least six ships since late 2017 on suspicion of sanctions violations. Last month, it began scrapping the Katrin. Officials said the dismantling was done at the request of Mr. Kazachuk, who did not want to continue accruing docking fees for the seized ship.

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https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/16/world/asia/north-korea-luxury-goods-sanctions.html

2019-07-16 09:25:51Z
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