North Korean
diplomats in charge of smuggling sanctioned goods into the country are using a
route to Mongolia to transport the items.
The route is being used to send banned luxury goods to
Pyongyang, and operates mostly under the international radar, Radio Free Asia
reported Friday.
The United Nations Security Council sanctions resolution that
passed Wednesday targets non-weapons trade and provisions include bans on North
Korean imports of luxury watches, Jet Skis and snowmobiles valued at more than
$2,000.
A China-based source who spoke to RFA on the condition of
anonymity said a "reliable North Korean worker" had said North Korean
diplomats have been taking banned items such as electronics and luxury goods on
the Mongolian route as China cracks down on North Korea trade.
The source said Pyongyang's diplomats are using their passports
to carry the goods across the border undetected. Electronic components that can
be used in nuclear and missile production are being transported across the
route.
The goods are sometimes listed under a third-party firm or
individual to cross into Mongolia from China and the illegal goods movement is
concealed by legitimate businesses.
North Korea illicit trade in other parts of the world, however,
is taking a blow ahead of sanctions implementation.
North Korean diplomats in Mexico and Brazil who earn foreign
currency for the regime through drug trafficking are expected to encounter
tighter restrictions, a source told RFA.
Some diplomats are working around the restrictions in those
countries by laundering the money in increments.
Last October, two North Korean diplomats in Sao Paulo were
arrested for attempting to smuggle 3,800 Cuban cigars into Brazil, Yonhap
reported.