The United States reportedly sought to blacklist ten ships for violating international sanctions against North Korea, but only four of them were blacklisted by the United Nations due to opposition by China.
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​One of the excluded ships – Lighthouse Winmore – was recently seized by South Korea after an illegal transfer of oil.
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​The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Friday that earlier this month, the United States sought to have the UN formally designate the ten vessels as sanctions violators, but only four ships that operate under the North Korean flag were included in the sanctions list.
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​The report said that the ships the Chinese didn’t agree to designate as sanctions violators are the Lighthouse Winmore, Xin Sheng Hai, Kai Xiang, Yu Yuan, Glory Hope 1 and Sam Jong 2, whose registered owner is China Dandong Xianghe.
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​The WSJ said that Beijing and Washington clashed over the United States push to blacklist the cargo ships.
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​South Korea said Friday that it had seized the Hong Kong-flagged oil tanker accused of transferring 600 tons of refined oil to North Korean ship Sam Jong 2 in October in violation of UN sanctions.