대북제재 위반으로 韓억류 선박 2척, 재발방지 약속 뒤 풀어줘

While efforts are being made to resume talks with the North,... South Korea is also working hard to enforce UN sanctions on the regime.
Seoul has been holding 6 vessels captive in its ports for breaking those sanctions... although two of them have now been released.
Our foreign affairs correspondent Lee Ji-won tells us more.
UN Security Council Sanctions Committee on North Korea decided Monday to release two of the vessels being held in South Korean ports for illegally conducting ship-to-ship transfers of petroleum products bound for North Korea.
"Our ministry submitted a proposal to the committee regarding what to do with the two vessels along with the results of their investigation. With the council's approval, the two vessels can now set sail."
There are six vessels held in South Korea for ship-to-ship trading with the North,... which violates UN Security Council resolutions.
Two are still under investigation,... but of the four whose investigations are finished, the Hong Kong-flagged Lighthouse Winmore and the South Korean P. Pioneer have been set free upon Seoul's proposal to the UN in late May.
Though they were found to have broken the law, an official at the foreign ministry said South Korea and the committee saw that they had not intended to and the ships' operators promised it will never happen again.
Specifically, the Lighthouse Winmore will not again engage in ship-to-ship transfers,... and the P. Pioneer... will have its tracking system turned on at all times and submit its course logs at the government's request.
It said they took these measures because the cost of holding them, borne by the ships' operators, got too high.
The Lighthouse Winmore had been held since late 2017, and the P. Pioneer since last September.
Meanwhile, the committee is reviewing whether to demolish the two other ships held by South Korea, the Koti and the Talent Ace.
Investigations showed that their violations were deliberate.
South Korea's foreign ministry said this is the first time the full sanctions process has been completed, from the seizure of ships to an investigation and then follow-up measures.
"The ministry added that it thinks this case will set a good example for other member states, and also further encourage them to faithfully implement the UN resolutions.
Lee Ji-won, Arirang News."