Iran meets North Korea, Syria in Bali (China aids Kim again)

A recent report from a UN panel of experts said North Korea appeared to have been sharing technology and expertise with Iran, violating sanctions.

Beijing blocked publication of the review, which accused Pyongyang of breaching sanctions designed to tackle its nuclear and missile programs, the Associated Press reported.

“Prohibited ballistic missile-related items are suspected to have been transferred … on regular scheduled flights of Air Koryo and Iran Air, with trans-shipment through a neighboring third country,” said the panel’s statement as quoted by The Guardian.

UN diplomats told Reuters that the third country was China. However, China subsequently denied the accusation, saying that, on the issue of denuclearization on the Korean peninsula, the Chinese position was crystal clear: “We have nothing to hide”.

The British newspaper reported that the allegations from UN diplomats echoed a US diplomatic cable from 2007, saying China had to act “urgently” to halt a trans-shipment of ballistic missile components from North Korea to Iran via Beijing.

The memo, signed by Condoleezza Rice — then-US secretary of state — urged the US ambassador to raise the issue at the earliest opportunity and at the highest level possible. The memo was in one of the cables obtained by WikiLeaks and published by The Guardian.

Thanks Pan_Yan. The illegal Pyongyang regime thought it would be getting outsourced jobs from China, but once again, not happenin' -- China's got an expendible and highly dependent partner, and proxy for nuclear proliferation to further its foreign policy agendas.

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