U.N. North Korea Sanctions Lifted On Four Ships, U.S. Official Says

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UNITED NATIONS, March 21 (Reuters) – The U.N. Security Council agreed on Monday to a Chinese request to remove sanctions on four ships that had been blacklisted for ties to Pyongyang after China secured assurances the vessels would not use North Korean crews, a U.S. official said.

The ships were among 31 vessels sanctioned by the 15-member council on March 2 because they were owned by North Korean shipping firm Ocean Maritime Management Company (OMM).

“We discovered that they are not OMM ships,” Chinese U.N. Ambassador Liu Jieyi told Reuters on Monday. “The basis for the listing of the ships is basically that they belong to OMM, so if you make a mistake then you correct the mistake.”

The U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Security Council committee on North Korea sanctions agreed to the request after China secured written commitments that the four ships would no longer use North Korean crews. He added that an official announcement was expected shortly. (Reporting by Michelle Nichols and Louis Charbonneau; Editing by Bernard Orr)

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2016.

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