By Kim Rahn
The United Nations has temporarily allowed South Korea's provision of fuel and vehicles for North Korea as an exception to the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) sanctions, because the materials would be used for recovering military communication lines between the two Koreas, a Japanese media company reported, Saturday.
Citing a source at the UNSC, the Kyodo News said the U.N. sanctions committee decided to accept the exception for Seoul to offer the materials to Pyongyang.
According to the report, the South Korean government asked the committee to allow it to send 51 items on the sanctions list including gasoline, optical cables, buses and trucks, which would be used for communication line recovery work, to the North. And the committee concluded sending the supplies would be an exception to the sanctions.
The UNSC resolutions ban exporting fuel and other materials that can be used for military purposes, but allows exceptions in case of humanitarian purposes.
It is said none of the 15 UNSC members objected to the committee's decision.
In an earlier summit in April between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, the two Koreas agreed to take measures to prevent accidental clashes at sea. And in military talks in June, they decided to restore the military communication lines on the west and east coasts as a follow-up action.
The east coast line was destroyed in a forest fire in the North in 2011. The west coast line was restored in January, but only voice calls are available and it requires optical cable networks to exchange faxes.
The South Korean government indirectly confirmed the report of sanctions exception.
"The government is pursuing diverse cooperative projects with the North to carry out agreements made at the Panmunjeom Declaration," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. "And it is closely cooperating with the international community, including the U.N., not to violate international sanctions against North Korea during the course."
Expectations are that such exceptions may take place more often as the two Koreas are planning cooperation in various initiatives such as railroad connections and reforestation.
