South Korea seizes Hong Kong vessel for transferring oil to North

South Korea has seized a Hong Kong-flagged oil tanker returning after allegedly transferring oil to North Korea.

The South Korean news agency Yonhap quoted the officials as saying on Friday that the authorities took and searched the vessel, Lighthouse Winmore, when it entered the country's Yeosu Port on November 24 after transferring 600 tons of refined petroleum to a North Korean vessel on October 19.

A ship-to-ship transfer of any goods to North Korea has been prohibited by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) as per the Resolution 2375, adopted in September.

The ship, loaded with the Japanese refined petroleum, was claimed to be heading to Taiwan.

However, the vessel not going to its claimed destination transferred the oil to North Korean vessels in international waters in the East China Sea.

"The actions taken will be reported to the UNSC sanctions committee on North Korea in the future," according to the authorities. "This marks a typical case of North Korea shrewdly circumventing UNSC sanctions by using its illegal networks."

South Korea gas shared the details with the United States for further investigation. 

-ANI