Sanction Committee DPRK of the Security Council of the United Nations, report from the Panel of Experts supporting the Committee
Military vehicles observed at parade and missile launch
96. The Panel investigated a three-axle military vehicle transporting an anti-air guided missile system which was tested during a military drill, and reported by state media on 2 April 2016. The guided missile system is identical to a strategic surface-to-air missile system (KN-06) displayed during the October 2015 military parade (see figure 26).
97. The surface-to-air missile system and radar transporter vehicles at the parade were labelled “Taebaeksan-96” in Korean script and strongly resemble a series of Russian-manufactured trucks (see annex 10-1). The Panel confirmed that a Russian Federation truck company had been operating an assembly line in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea since 2007 and that medium-sized trucks with the name “Taebaeksan-96” had been produced and licensed by that company at the Pyongsong Auto assembly plant. The Panel concludes that these “Taebaeksan-96” trucks were produced at the plant and were copies of the company’s specific truck model.
Figure 26
KN-06 launch during the 2016 military drill (left) and trucks on parade in 2012 (middle) and 2015 (right)
Source: Rodong Sinmun, anonymous and KCTV.
98. In its reply, the Russian Federation stated that the truck company had established a joint venture with Korea “Pusen” corporation involving an assembly plant for manufacturing trucks in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea from November 2006 to December 2010, during which time 156 truck kits were delivered to the country. The joint agreement consisted of two components: a licensing agreement, including technical specifications for assembly and production; and a commercial contract on truck kit deliveries. The Russian Federation clarified that, under the contract and end user certificate, “Pusen” corporation was not authorized to utilize the model for military purposes, and resolutions 1718 (2006) and 1874 (2009) did not prohibit shipments of trucks to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea during the period when the joint venture contract was in force.
99. The Panel notes that no company named “Pusen” exists in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, but that a similarly named “Korea Pusong Corporation” manufactures vehicle-related machinery parts like grinders and bearings, and considers “Pusen” to be a derivative pronunciation of “Pusong”.102 Korea Pusong was designated by a Member State in March 2016 for its role in military logistics and the procurement of weapons of mass destruction.103
Another Member State stated that Pusong’s alias, “Elite Surveying Instruments”, had been involved in illicit shipments of dual-use items to an entity in the Syrian Arab Republic, “Megatrade”, a front company of the Syrian Scientific Studies and Research Centre, that had previously been involved in prohibited activities.104 According to the truck’s brochure, Korea Ryongwang Trading Corporation markets this truck and provides repair and technical services (see annex 10-2). The Panel identified Ryongwang as an alias of a designated entity, Korea Ryonbong General Corporation.105
100. Spare parts almost certainly would have had to have been imported for vehicles such as “Taebaeksan-96”. Given that resolution 2270 (2016) extends the arms embargo to any item that could directly contribute to the development of the country’s operational capabilities of its armed forces, the Panel reiterates that Member States should prevent the export to the country of any commercial vehicles or spare parts thereof that could be used for military purposes. Furthermore, paragraphs 8 (a), (b) and (c) of resolution 1718 (2006) apply to the transfer of “truck chassis with 6 or more axles”, listed in annex III of resolution 2321 (2016).
102 “DPRK products popular at Pyongyang Spring Int’l Trade Fair”, KCNA, 21 May 2013; and “Corundum-made products widely used”, KCNA, 22 July 2013.
103 8 March 2016, Republic of Korea designation. __________________ S/2017/150
17-01388 40/326
104 See S/2014/147, paras. 51-54.
105 See S/2016/157 para. 162.
