WASHINGTON: China has forbid North Korean vessels entering six of its ports, according to a release from the Asahi Shimbun. The expanded embargo is said to be a sanction to punish Pyongyang for its recent nuclear and missile tests. According to the article, port authority sources at Penglai and Weifang acknowledged that entry by North Korean vessels is prohibited.
“We received a verbal order out of the blue from the customs authority on March 19, and all North Korean vessels are anchored outside the port awaiting permission to enter,” said an official from the Penglai Port Authority.
It is thought that the authority in Yingkoi, Liaoning province, initially prohibited the entry of all North Korean vessels to the Yingkou port on March 16. Local authorities are then said to have imposed a ban on entry at the ports of Rizhao, Penglai and Weifang in Shandong province as well as Nantong port in Jiangsu province and the Port of Tianjin on March 21.
The article also stated that China may further increase its sanctions against imports from North Korea, but this could all be dependent on the country’s response to the current embargo against it. NK News reported that live shipping data showed irregular groupings of North Korean vessels in anchorage off and in close proximity to the listed ports. It argued that this could be an indicator that the measures had been implemented.
