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Mozambique Denies Doing Business with North Korea

by Salem Solomon

   WASHINGTON --

   Mozambique is denying allegations that it continues to do business with
   North Korea in violation of U.N. sanctions.

   A [1]CNN report published this month found that North Korea has signed
   contracts worth millions of dollars in Mozambique, funneled the money
   through diplomatic channels and used profits from fishing vessels off
   the Mozambican coast to fund its nuclear program.

   But Mozambique's deputy minister of foreign affairs and cooperation,
   Maria Manuela Lucas, denied that her government has made any agreements
   with North Korea that violate sanctions. She said Mozambique welcomes
   outside monitoring.

   "The Mozambican government recently invited the U.N. panel to visit
   Mozambique to see the work that the country is doing to be able to
   collaborate with this panel. The panel has recently been assembled and
   will also publish a report of the last meeting. The panel promised to
   visit Mozambique this quarter," said Lucas.

   She also said her government is working with private Mozambican
   businesses to educate them about the sanctions and shut down illegal
   operations.

   The report also alleges that North Korea is providing military training
   to elite Mozambican forces and offering technical support to the
   military. A previous U.N. report alleged that North Korea and
   Mozambique had a military partnership worth at least $6 million. North
   Korea used a shell company to sell weapons, including missiles, radar
   and air defense systems, according to the report.

   Mozambican opposition figures seized on the CNN report as evidence of
   the ruling Frelimo Party's corrupt and inept leadership. "It shows lack
   of seriousness on the part of our government, by our rulers, who
   establish shady business on the fringes of what are the international
   rules, which can somehow penalize the image of Mozambique," said
   Fernando Bismarques, a spokesman for the Democratic Movement of
   Mozambique, an opposition party.

   The United States, which has led the charge for tougher sanctions
   against North Korea, declined to comment specifically about the
   Mozambique case, but said it would continue to hold countries
   accountable.

   "All U.N. member states are required to implement sanctions resolutions
   in good faith, and we expect them all to do so," said Chris Schirm,
   press officer for the U.S. State Department.

   "We continue to call on all countries, including Mozambique, to take
   the appropriate steps to apply maximum pressure on the DPRK including
   reducing economic ties."

   Salem Solomon is a digital journalist at the Voice of America's Africa
   Division and covers the latest news from across the continent. Salem
   reports and edits in [2]English, [3]Amharic and [4]Tigrigna. She
   produced the multimedia and data-driven projects [5]How Long Have
   Africa's Presidents Been in Office?, [6]Zimbabwe in Transition and
   [7]Hunger Across Africa. Her work has appeared in The New York Times,
   Poynter.org, Reuters and The Tampa Bay Times. Salem researches trends
   in analytics and digital journalism. For tips and inquiries, email:
   [8]salemsolomon@voanews.com.

References

   1. https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/03/africa/north-korea-mozambique-sanctions-intl/index.html
   2. http://www.voanews.com/author/25229.html
   3. http://amharic.voanews.com/author/25085.html
   4. http://tigrigna.voanews.com/author/25525.html
   5. http://projects.voanews.com/african-presidents/
   6. https://projects.voanews.com/zimbabwe-in-transition/
   7. http://projects.voanews.com/africa-drought/home.php
   8. mailto:sfekadu@voanews.com