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Exclusive - Sanctioned North Korea shipping firm still active, renamed ships: U.N. panel


    UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A U.N.-blacklisted North Korean shipping firm has renamed most of its vessels in a bid to disguise their origin and continues illicit shipments in violation of United Nations sanctions, according to a U.N. experts report seen by Reuters on Wednesday.

    In a 76-page report, the U.N. Security Council's Panel of Experts on North Korea, which monitors implementation of U.N. sanctions on Pyongyang, also said North Korea "continued to defy Security Council resolutions by persisting with its nuclear and ballistic missile programs."

    It noted that North Korean diplomats, officials and trade representatives were playing key roles in the illegal weapons trade, including ballistic-missile-related materials. There is a U.N. arms embargo on Pyongyang that prohibits weapons trade except for the provision of small arms to North Korea.

    (Reporting by Louis Charbonneau and Michelle Nichols; Editing by Chris Reese)