N.Korea earned $200 mln from banned exports, sends arms to Syria, Myanmar

UN, Feb 3 (Reuters) - N.Korea violated UN sanctions to earn nearly $ 200mn in 2017 from banned commodity exports, according to a confidential report by independent UN monitors, which also accused Pyongyang of supplying weapons to Syria and Myanmar.

The report to a UN Security Council sanctions committee, said N.Korea had shipped coal to ports, including in Russia, China, S.Korea, Malaysia and Vietnam, mainly using false paperwork that showed countries such as Russia and China as the coal origin.

The 15-member council has unanimously boosted sanctions on N.Korea since 2006 in a bid to choke funding for Pyongyang's nuclear and ballistic missile programs, banning exports including coal, iron, lead, textiles and seafood, and capping imports of crude oil and refined petroleum products.

“The DPRK ( N. Korea) is already flouting the most recent resolutions by exploiting global oil supply chains, complicit foreign nationals, offshore company registries and the international banking system,” the UN monitors wrote in the report.