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The USCGC Bertholf, a cutter of the US Coast Guard
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Ship to crack down on ship-to-ship transfers of coal and fuel to and from North Korea
After the second North Korea-US summit ended without an agreement last month, the US said that it has dispatched a coast guard ship to the East China Sea to crack down on North Korea’s ship-to-ship transfers. On Mar. 19, the US Indo-Pacific Command announced that the Bertholf, a cutter with the US Coast Guard, had arrived at the Sasebo Naval Base in Japan on Mar. 3 and that the cutter would be monitoring North Korean actions that violate sanctions. In a press release, the US Indo-Pacific Command noted that the UN Security Council has banned ship-to-ship transfers of products, including coal and other fuel, that were entering or leaving North Korea. With a crew of 170 people, the Bertholf, isn’t heavily armed, but it is one of the newest ships in the US Coast Guard’s fleet. The cutter departed from its home base in Alameda, California, on Jan. 20, bound for the waters of the Western Pacific. “The United States is a Pacific nation,” said Vice Adm. Linda Fagan, commander of the Coast Guard Pacific Area. Fagan explained that another aspect of the Bertholf’s mission is countering China, which claims sovereignty over the East China Sea. Considering that the US Coast Guard generally guards the US coastal waters, it can be presumed that this cutter – which was sent to the Western Pacific after the North Korea-US summit on Feb. 27-28 ended without an agreement – is intended to put pressure on North Korea. After the summit, US National Security Advisor John Bolton announced plans to get tougher on North Korean maritime activities that were in violation of sanctions. And during an interview with the press on Mar. 19, Bolton issued another warning with his remark that, if the North resumes its nuclear weapons and missile tests, it would have a “real impact” on US President Donald Trump. The US Indo-Pacific Command’s announcement appears to be a message that the US intends to put more pressure on North Korea through the strict enforcement of sanctions. That ties in with the announcement by Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Mar. 19 that the UK’s warship HMS Montrose, which had arrived in Japanese waters, would be on patrol to ensure that North Korea does not violate sanctions. Trump thwarts Biegun’s attempts to reopen dialogue channel with North In related news, the US weekly Time reported that Trump had thwarted an attempt by Stephen Biegun, the US State Department’s special representative for North Korea, to reopen a channel of dialogue with the North’s delegation to the UN following the second summit. Despite the failure of the “top-down” method of negotiations, Time analyzed, Trump still wants to retain control of negotiations with the North. By Lee Bon-young, senior staff writer Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]
