N.Korea using Mongolia to smuggle banned material, says Seoul newspaper

Seoul’s Munhwa Ilbo newspaper has reported, quoting unnamed government officials, that South Korea has secured evidence that North Korea has been smuggling banned materials which could be used for rocket and missile launches, often using forged documents to disguise their destination, through China and other countries. "North Korea has smuggled commodities related to weapons of mass destruction banned by the international community and luxury goods through detour routes such as China, Japan, Mongolia and Russia," it said, according to an AFP report.

Illegal methods used by the cash-strapped communist country to evade sanctions have become more creative than before, the newspaper said. Pyongyang now favors Mongolia and Russia to smuggle banned goods because of tightened regulations in China, it said.

This follows the detection in April of a Chinese company fabricating documents to export measuring equipment to the North that could be used for long-range rocket or missile launches. Two Japanese traders were caught by police in June for attempting to export second-hand digging equipment, which could be used as a missile launch pad, to North Korea. South Korea has also collected information about North Korean officials using diplomatic pouches to smuggle whisky, cigars and drugs, the newspaper said.