The U.S. State Department announced that it will seek sanctions at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) against third-country vessels involved in exporting North Korean coal and iron ore in violation of the council’s sanctions resolutions. This marks the first U.N. sanctions action related to North Korea under the second Trump administration. It is seen as an effort to block the practice of North Korea raising funds for nuclear and missile development through coal and iron ore exports.

According to Reuters and others on the 3rd (local time), a State Department official said at a press briefing that the ships loaded and transported to China North Korean coal and iron ore, exports of which are banned under U.N. Security Council resolutions, adding, “The U.N. Sanctions Committee on North Korea (1718 Committee) should immediately designate the seven involved ships for U.N. sanctions.”

U.N. Security Council Resolution 2371, adopted in 2017, imposed a complete ban on exports of key minerals such as coal and iron ore, North Korea’s main export items. Previously, exports for livelihood purposes had been permitted, but after North Korea’s intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test launch, all such exports were prohibited.

The official stated, “Coal and iron ore are North Korea’s most profitable exports and a core source of funding for weapons of mass destruction,” and added, “This designation is not a mere procedural step; it seeks to hold violators of U.N. sanctions to account and to cut off money flowing into North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.”

According to materials analyzed by the State Department, the Sierra Leone-flagged cargo ship ‘Kajio’, which departed from Russia, received coal via ship-to-ship transfers from North Korean vessels twice in May in waters near North Korea. The vessel then transported the coal to Weifang, China, and unloaded it. Another ship, ‘Kajio’, transported North Korean coal or iron ore in January from Nampo Port in North Korea to China’s Beiyang port. Satellite images confirmed coal piles being offloaded from the vessel.

Under the procedure, once the 1718 Committee circulates the sanctions proposal, it is automatically finalized unless any member state raises an objection within five days. However, if permanent members China or Russia oppose or request a hold, the measure may not pass.

Washington’s push for these sanctions comes as North Korea-China relations have been recovering, following Chairman Kim Jong-un’s visit to China in September and a North Korea-China summit. In particular, the timing draws attention as the State Department’s announcement came right after a North Korea-U.S. summit failed to materialize during President Trump’s recent visit to South Korea.

President Trump repeatedly expressed a desire to meet Chairman Kim, but the meeting did not materialize. Regarding this, a State Department official said, “This step has been in preparation for several months; we have been looking into this matter since spring,” and added, “There is no particular connection to the current timing.”