Russia apparently violating UNSC resolutions by giving NK leader luxury car: State Dept.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin take a seat in Putin's presidential Aurus Senat limousine at Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Russian Far East, in this Sept. 20, 2023 file photo captured from footage of North Korea's state-run Korean Central Television. Yonhap
Russia appears to have violated U.N. Security Council (UNSC) resolutions if it had given North Korean leader Kim Jong-un a luxury car, a State Department spokesperson said Wednesday, noting the supply of transportation vehicles to the North is prohibited under the resolutions.
The North's Korean Central News Agency reported Tuesday that Kim received a Russian-made luxury car from Russian President Vladimir Putin as a gift demonstrating the special bonds between them. Later, the Kremlin confirmed that the car is an Aurus Senat, according to Russia's state-run RIA Novosti news agency.
"If this is true, it would appear to be once again Russia violating U.N. Security Council resolutions that it itself supported," Matthew Miller, the spokesperson, told a press briefing.
Miller also stressed that UNSC resolutions require all U.N. member states to prohibit both the supply of transportation vehicles and of luxury automobiles to North Korea.
In a quip, Miller said he did not know there was "such a thing as a Russian luxury car."
"I hope Kim got the extended warranty," he said. "I am not sure if I were buying a luxury car, Russia would be the place I would look even if it wasn't with respect to sanctions."
Miller also commented on a recent report that a North Korean ballistic missile, which Russia fired against Ukraine last month, contained many parts traced to companies in the United States and Europe.
"We will continue to use all of our relevant tools — export controls, sanctions, interdiction and law enforcement actions — to prevent the DPRK from acquiring sensitive items and technology that can be used in unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs," he said. "That incudes preventing Russia from acquiring weapons and other sensitive items, including components from North Korea or from anywhere else."
DPRK stands for North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. (Yonhap)