North Korea appeared to use a Chinese truck originally sold for hauling timber to transport and erect a ballistic missile that was successfully launched on Tuesday, highlighting the challenge of enforcing sanctions to curb its weapons program.North Korea state television
... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
showed a large truck painted in military camouflage carrying the missile. It was identical to one a U.N. sanctions panel has said was "most likely" converted from a Chinese timber truck.
In its 2013 report, the U.N. panel of experts said the features of the vehicle in the 2012 parade exactly matched those of a vehicle sold by China's Hubei Sanjiang Space Wanshan Special Vehicle Company. The company is a subsidiary of China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp, a state-owned company that makes the Shenzhou rocket as well as missiles. A company manager reached by telephone declined to comment citing the sensitivity of the issue.
The vehicle was imported from China and declared for civilian use by the North Korean foreign ministry, according to the U.N. panel. China submitted to the U.N. panel a copy of the end user certificate provided by the North stating that six of the vehicles were being imported for the purpose of transporting timber.
The panel said it "considers it most likely that the (North) deliberately breached" the certificate and converted the trucks into transporter-erector-launchers.
Since 2006, U.N. sanctions have banned the shipment of military hardware to North Korea. But control of equipment and vehicles that have "dual-use" military and civilian applications has been far less stringent.
Tuesday's launch was the first time the truck had been seen in a military field operation in pictures published in state media. Images on the North Korea's state television
... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
showed soldiers working on the vehicle mounted with a missile, which was then erected and off-loaded ahead of the launch at a hillside location. Leader Kim
PudgeJong-un
...the overweight, pouty-looking hereditary potentate of North Korea. Pudge appears to believe in his own divinity, but has yet to produce any loaves and fishes, so his subjects remain malnourished...
supervised the test.