Joint Statement Highlights Accountability Measures for DPRK Sanctions Violations

The following statement was issued jointly by the Governments of the United States, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, and the United Kingdom, as well as the European External Action Service.

On April 30, the Open Source Centre presented a briefing to the United Nations Security Council regarding ongoing circumvention of maritime sanctions by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). The evidence — including vessel imagery, reconstructed voyages, Automatic Identification System (AIS) manipulation, and port‑call analyses — demonstrates clear breaches of the Security Council’s obligations to prohibit the export of DPRK coal and iron ore. The vessels implicated in these recent activities are the DREAM WAVE (IMO 8693073), PEACEFUL 8 (IMO 1039424), ORION (IMO 9638953), FU RUN DA 1 (IMO 1099814), and OSTROV ANTSIFEROVA (IMO 9178070).

The statement also highlights conclusive evidence concerning seven vessels that were nominated to the 1718 Committee in December 2025 for designation under Security Council Resolution 2321. These vessels — FLYFREE (IMO 1092684), CASIO (IMO 9125786), MARS (IMO 1077402), CARTIER (IMO 1091898), SOPHIA/PRADA (IMO 1079345), ARMANI (IMO 1078561), and YI LI 1 (IMO 1059149) — remain under consideration, and we urge the Committee to expedite their designation.

Pursuant to paragraph 12 of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1718, the Committee is required to examine reports of violations and to reinforce the implementation of the sanctions it administers. Timely designations are vital to preserving the credibility and effectiveness of the UN sanctions regime.

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