UN blacklists dozens of ships, businesses

The UN Security Council on Friday blacklisted 27 ships, 21 companies and a businessman for helping North Korea circumvent sanctions, as the United States keeps up pressure on Pyongyang despite its recent overtures toward talks, diplomats said.

Acting on a request from the United States, it was the largest-ever package of sanctions designations on North Korea approved by a council committee, diplomats said.

The move is part of a global crackdown on the smuggling of North Korean commodities in violation of UN sanctions resolutions, which were adopted in response to Pyongyang's nuclear and ballistic missile tests.

The sanctions were approved as the United States moves to open talks with North Korea on its nuclear drive, with a summit possible between President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un by the end of May.

Despite the diplomatic opening, the United States has made clear they will keep the pressure on Pyongyang to shift course by pressing on with sanctions.

A total of 13 North Korean oil tankers and cargo vessels were banned from ports worldwide along with 12 other ships for helping Pyongyang smuggle banned commodities or supplying oil and fuel shipments, according to a UN document obtained by AFP.

Two other North Korean vessels were hit with a global assets freeze, but are not banned from port entry.

Twenty-one shipping and trading firms were hit by an assets freeze. Twelve North Korean firms were blacklisted for running ships involved in illegal transfers of oil and fuel, according to the document. The remaining firms are in based Singapore, Samoa, the Marshall Islands and Panama.

Meanwhile, K-pop stars led a group of South Korean musicians arriving in Pyongyang yesterday to take part in the latest set of cross-border cultural performances ahead of next month's rare inter-Korean summit.

Under the theme title "Spring is Coming", the South Korean musicians will perform a concert in Pyongyang today before a joint show with North Korean artists at the capital's 12,000-seat Ryugyong Jong Ju Yong Gymnasium on Tuesday.             

In another development, IOC chief Thomas Bach said Kim Jong Un has committed to send North Korean teams to the Tokyo and Beijing Olympics.

Bach, the president of the International Olympic Committee, also said the IOC will make a proposal for a "potential joint march" and other shared activities between the North and South Korean teams at the 2020 Games in Japan.