Pyongyang relies on Southeast Asian nations to evade sanctions
By Kim Jae-kyoung
SINGAPORE ― ASEAN should play a bigger role in reining in North Korea by cracking down on its illicit trade and activities in their countries, experts said Thursday.
They said beyond China and Russia, some ASEAN nations provide a lifeline to North Korea as they are becoming a source for the isolated state to evade sanctions and earn hard currency.
"All ASEAN countries, except for Malaysia after the Kim Jong-nam assassination, still maintain friendly relations with North Korea to varying degrees," Hoang Thi Ha, lead researcher at the ASEAN Studies Center at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, told The Korea Times.
She called on ASEAN countries to seriously implement the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions, especially on sanctions against the North, particularly in terms of cracking down on illicit trade.
In particular, she urged them to be more careful vetting North Koreans' entry into their countries and to have greater caution in providing "flags of convenience" as in the case of Cambodia.
A ship registered under Cambodia's flag but with a North Korean crew was found carrying a huge amount of munitions in 2016.
"I do not call for extreme measures such as cutting off bilateral ties, but obviously ASEAN governments can do more on their part in the implementation of U.N. sanctions," she said.
ASEAN refers to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, consisting of 10 members ― Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam.
Of late, there are growing calls for ASEAN to increase pressure on North Korea as some member countries are emerging as hubs for Pyongyang's illegal trade in the wake of China's tightening of sanctions against the totalitarian regime led by young leader Kim Jong-un.
"North Korea has become more sophisticated and operates in not only China, but also Southeast Asian countries and beyond to thwart the sanctions and earn hard currency," said Tara O, adjunct fellow at the Pacific Forum CSIS.
"I think Southeast Asian and other countries can make more concerted and proactive efforts to implement sanctions and comply with U.N. resolutions."
ASEAN's economic interaction with the North is much smaller than China's but its relationships with these countries are deep and extensive.
The Philippines was the third-largest trading partner of North Korea in 2016, behind only China and India, and the trade volume is increasing.
Singapore, which has healthy diplomatic relations with Pyongyang, is reportedly a source of the Kim Jong-un regime's imports of luxury goods.
According to the U.S.-based NK News, there is an ongoing luxury goods trade between Pyongyang and the Singapore-based company OCN Pte, which is a violation of international sanctions that prohibit sales of such goods to North Korea.
Even after the Kim Jong-nam incident and the following diplomatic spat, Kuala Lumpur still maintains diplomatic ties with Pyongyang. Vietnam and Laos share a "communist ideology" while Cambodia and Myanmar have traditional friendships with the North.
Following the launch of an alleged intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), only Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam individually issued a statement against the action. But ASEAN foreign ministers did not issue a joint statement.
Balbina Hwang, a visiting professor at Georgetown University's Center for Security Studies, said ASEAN has leverage to influence North Korea as the ASEAN Regional Forum is one of the few regional multilateral organizations at which the North is a regular participant.
"If as an organization ASEAN were to make a strong statement condemning Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs, this would have a strong symbolic effect," she said.
"ASEAN should back up this stance with individual members taking action to limit their trade with North Korea. Pyongyang's development of its nuclear program is certainly a threat to regional stability and security."
Experts said the Trump administration should urge ASEAN countries to increase pressure on North Korea to stop its provocative actions.
"The U.S. should forbid trade with, and deny U.S. dollar access to, any ASEAN country that trades with North Korea," said Sean King, a New York-based political analyst and Asia specialist.
"Even seemingly benign commerce like ginseng sales and North Korean restaurants generate valuable hard currency for an evil regime that persecutes its own people and threatens others with nuclear annihilation."
In May, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called for ASEAN members to cut funding streams to North Korea and minimize diplomatic relations with Pyongyang.
Trump, in his meeting with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte at the White House in May, asked him for the Philippines' cooperation against the North.
By Kim Jae-kyoung
SINGAPORE ― ASEAN should play a bigger role in reining in North Korea by cracking down on its illicit trade and activities in their countries, experts said Thursday.
They said beyond China and Russia, some ASEAN nations provide a lifeline to North Korea as they are becoming a source for the isolated state to evade sanctions and earn hard currency.
"All ASEAN countries, except for Malaysia after the Kim Jong-nam assassination, still maintain friendly relations with North Korea to varying degrees," Hoang Thi Ha, lead researcher at the ASEAN Studies Center at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, told The Korea Times.
She called on ASEAN countries to seriously implement the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions, especially on sanctions against the North, particularly in terms of cracking down on illicit trade.
In particular, she urged them to be more careful vetting North Koreans' entry into their countries and to have greater caution in providing "flags of convenience" as in the case of Cambodia.
A ship registered under Cambodia's flag but with a North Korean crew was found carrying a huge amount of munitions in 2016.
"I do not call for extreme measures such as cutting off bilateral ties, but obviously ASEAN governments can do more on their part in the implementation of U.N. sanctions," she said.
ASEAN refers to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, consisting of 10 members ― Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam.
Of late, there are growing calls for ASEAN to increase pressure on North Korea as some member countries are emerging as hubs for Pyongyang's illegal trade in the wake of China's tightening of sanctions against the totalitarian regime led by young leader Kim Jong-un.
"North Korea has become more sophisticated and operates in not only China, but also Southeast Asian countries and beyond to thwart the sanctions and earn hard currency," said Tara O, adjunct fellow at the Pacific Forum CSIS.
"I think Southeast Asian and other countries can make more concerted and proactive efforts to implement sanctions and comply with U.N. resolutions."
ASEAN's economic interaction with the North is much smaller than China's but its relationships with these countries are deep and extensive.
The Philippines was the third-largest trading partner of North Korea in 2016, behind only China and India, and the trade volume is increasing.
Singapore, which has healthy diplomatic relations with Pyongyang, is reportedly a source of the Kim Jong-un regime's imports of luxury goods.
According to the U.S.-based NK News, there is an ongoing luxury goods trade between Pyongyang and the Singapore-based company OCN Pte, which is a violation of international sanctions that prohibit sales of such goods to North Korea.
Even after the Kim Jong-nam incident and the following diplomatic spat, Kuala Lumpur still maintains diplomatic ties with Pyongyang. Vietnam and Laos share a "communist ideology" while Cambodia and Myanmar have traditional friendships with the North.
Following the launch of an alleged intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), only Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam individually issued a statement against the action. But ASEAN foreign ministers did not issue a joint statement.
Balbina Hwang, a visiting professor at Georgetown University's Center for Security Studies, said ASEAN has leverage to influence North Korea as the ASEAN Regional Forum is one of the few regional multilateral organizations at which the North is a regular participant.
"If as an organization ASEAN were to make a strong statement condemning Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs, this would have a strong symbolic effect," she said.
"ASEAN should back up this stance with individual members taking action to limit their trade with North Korea. Pyongyang's development of its nuclear program is certainly a threat to regional stability and security."
Experts said the Trump administration should urge ASEAN countries to increase pressure on North Korea to stop its provocative actions.
"The U.S. should forbid trade with, and deny U.S. dollar access to, any ASEAN country that trades with North Korea," said Sean King, a New York-based political analyst and Asia specialist.
"Even seemingly benign commerce like ginseng sales and North Korean restaurants generate valuable hard currency for an evil regime that persecutes its own people and threatens others with nuclear annihilation."
In May, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called for ASEAN members to cut funding streams to North Korea and minimize diplomatic relations with Pyongyang.
Trump, in his meeting with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte at the White House in May, asked him for the Philippines' cooperation against the North.
