S. Korea says it abides by sanctions amid report of unauthorized oil shipments

SEOUL, Jan. 31 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's government said Thursday that it has been complying with U.N. Security Council (UNSC) sanctions on North Korea, dismissing a report that it may have breached them by shipping oil products to the North last year without notifying the council.

Citing diplomatic sources, Japan's Kyodo News reported that the U.N. sanctions committee on the North plans to point out Seoul's failure to notify the UNSC of its oil shipments.

"(South Korea) has been in compliance with the sanctions on the North and has not heard about anything related to the (alleged) violation of sanctions," Noh Kyu-duk, spokesman at Seoul's foreign ministry, told a press briefing.

"We are closely cooperating with the (sanctions) committee, and we have not been informed by the committee regarding what was mentioned in the news report," he added.

South Korea took some 340 tons of oil products to the North between January and November last year, apparently for use at the inter-Korean liaison office established in the North's border city of Kaesong in September, the report said.

An official at Seoul's unification ministry handling inter-Korean affairs also told reporters that inter-Korean cooperation projects have been proceeding within the framework of the sanctions regime.

"We are (carrying out the projects) in sufficient, close consultation with the international community," the official added.

sshluck@yna.co.kr
(END)