South Korea seizes Hong Kong-registered vessel for allegedly transferring oil to North Korea

Trump has accused China of violating sanctions with North Korea.

(Image credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

published 29 December 2017

South Korea confirmed Friday that it is holding a Hong Kong-registered vessel over claims that it violated sanctions in October by transferring oil in international waters to a North Korean ship, the BBC reports. President Trump had alluded to the transfer in a tweet Thursday in which he blasted China for being "caught RED HANDED."

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying has denied the nation is violating sanctions, and said if China discovers such an example, it will be dealt with "in accordance with laws and regulations," CNN reports. South Korea says that the Lighthouse Winmore — the Taiwanese-leased, Hong Kong-flagged ship that made the alleged oil transfer — illustrates "one of the main ways in which North Korea uses an illegal network to circumvent" the sanctions.

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.

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