U.S. takes sanctioned Russian ship moored in China as 'incredibly seriously'

By Song Sang-ho

WASHINGTON, April 29 (Yonhap) -- The United States takes a sanctioned Russian vessel having used a Chinese port as "incredibly seriously," a State Department spokesperson said Monday, as the ship has been implicated in North Korea's arms transfers to Russia.

State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel made the comment as the vessel, named Angara, has been docked at a Chinese shipyard in a development that added to speculation about China's indirect support for Russia's war efforts in Ukraine.

"This is something that we take incredibly seriously. You saw the secretary ... myself speak about the closening of the relation (close relations) we're seeing between Russia and the PRC, especially as it relates to ongoing endeavors, as it relates to the Russian defense industrial base," Patel said. PRC stands for China's official name, the People's Republic of China.

"We think that that is not just risky to the region, but it is directly an affront to Ukraine. So we're going to continue to take appropriate steps to hold relevant actors accountable," he added.

Citing Britain's Royal United Services Institute, Reuters recently reported that the ship in question has been docked at a Chinese shipyard in eastern Zhejiang province since February.

Commenting on the report, the State Department said last week that media and non-governmental organization reports implicate Angara for its direct involvement with a group of Russian cargo vessels conducting deliveries of military equipment and munitions from the DPRK to Russia

Pyongyang has shipped over 10,000 containers of munitions or munition-related materials to Russia since September, as well as several dozen ballistic missiles, according to the U.S. government, as Moscow strives to replenish its weapons stockpile for use in Ukraine.

sshluck@yna.co.kr
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