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Chinese firm boasted
of missile-linked sale: envoys
COUNTDOWN: Officials are ¡¥99 percent certain¡¦
Hubei Sanjiang¡¦s press release referred to a missile launcher that was recently
displayed at a military parade in Pyongyang
Reuters, UNITED NATIONS and BEIJING
A Chinese firm that intelligence agencies believe provided North Korea with the
body of an off-road transport vehicle used to carry missiles appears to have a
press release on its Web site that boasts about the sale, UN diplomats said.
Washington suspects that the Chinese firm, Hubei Sanjiang Space Wanshan Special
Vehicle Co, did not sell North Korea an entire vehicle, but a chassis, and might
have believed it was for civilian purposes, suggesting the company did not
intentionally flout UN sanctions, a US official said.
The official also said the firm likely made the sale to a front company that was
used to mask the buyer¡¦s true identity. The company denies having trade links to
North Korea.
UN diplomats in New York said that some UN delegations are also aware of the
case and are looking into whether Hubei Sanjiang might have violated the UN ban
on selling North Korea technology that can support its ballistic missile
program.
Even if it is not a violation of UN sanctions against Pyongyang, the use of a
specialized Chinese vehicle to parade North Korean missiles would be more than a
little awkward, the Western diplomats said on condition of anonymity.
They said that a press release posted on Hubei Sanjiang¡¦s Web site last year
appears to boast about the sale of the chassis that ended up in Pyongyang,
though it did not name the customer.
The press release also said that the company was looking forward to future
cooperation with ¡§the consumer¡¨ of the item, which the diplomats said has the
model number ¡§WS51200.¡¨
It said the successful delivery of ¡§the largest Self-propelled Overload Special
Off-road Transporter in China¡¨ took place on May 17 last year. The
English-language press release also refers specifically to the vehicle chassis,
which is what Washington believes Pyongyang purchased.
¡§During the inspection of this delivery, the consumer was very satisfied with
the vehicle and indicated the possible of the next cooperation,¡¨ it said.
One diplomat said intelligence officials were ¡§99 percent certain¡¨ the press
release referred to the vehicle the North Koreans used to transport a missile in
a recent military parade.
Hubei Sanjiang Space Wanshan Special Vehicle is a subsidiary of China Aerospace
Science and Industry Corp, a state-owned company that makes the Shenzhou rocket,
as well as missiles.
Hubei Sanjiang itself makes vehicles to transport heavy items like ship parts
and large-scale machinery. An official in the foreign trade office of Hubei
Sanjiang denied that it has had any business with North Korea.
¡§We¡¦ve had trade cooperation in the past with South Korea, but not with North
Korea,¡¨ the official said. ¡§We don¡¦t have any exchanges with South Korea at the
moment.¡¨
Asked about the allegations, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin (¼B¬°¥Á)
said: ¡§China¡¦s position has not changed. We remain in touch with all sides,
including the United States, on the issue of non-proliferation.¡¨
The White House confirmed on Monday that it was in touch with China.
North Korea is barred from importing technology for its nuclear and missile
programs under sanctions the UN Security Council imposed in the wake of
Pyongyang¡¦s 2006 and 2009 nuclear tests. The sanctions also bar countries from
selling North Korea any such technology.
The council rebuked Pyongyang for a rocket launch earlier this month, saying it
was a violation of the UN ban on the use of ballistic missile technology by the
Northeast Asian nation.
The UN Security Council also directed its sanctions committee to consider adding
new names to its blacklist of firms and individuals who will be hit with asset
freezes and travel bans for helping North Korea skirt UN sanctions.
It was not clear if Hubei Sanjiang Space Wanshan Special Vehicle Co was a
potential candidate for a UN blacklisting.
The Security Council, its North Korea sanctions committee and a UN panel of
experts that monitor sanctions violations have been looking into the possibility
of Chinese breaches of the North Korea sanctions regime, UN envoys say.
However, even if Chinese firms continue to help North Korea ¡X with or without
the blessing of Beijing ¡X the council is unlikely to punish China in any way
because it is one of the five permanent Security Council members and can
therefore block any punitive action against it.
Beijing has long acted as North Korea¡¦s protector on the 15-nation Security
Council, though it has twice supported sanctions resolutions to demonstrate its
annoyance with Pyongyang over its nuclear tests.
Meanwhile, North Korea has almost completed preparations for a third nuclear
test and has the capacity to carry it out ¡§soon,¡¨ a source with close ties to
Pyongyang and Beijing said.
¡§Soon. Preparations are almost complete,¡¨ the source said when asked whether
North Korea was planning to undertake a nuclear test.
The source has correctly predicted events in the past, such as North Korea¡¦s
first nuclear test in 2006 days before it took place.
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