US Puts $5M Bounty On Shipper For Facilitating Kim Jong Un’s Weapons Proliferation
The U.S. is offering a reward of up to $5 million seeking information about a Singapore-based businessman who facilitated fuel shipments to Kim Jong Un's North Korea in violation of U.N. sanctions.
What Happened: The U.S. State Department on Thursday announced the reward through its Justice program in exchange for the details of Kwek Kee Seng, who was charged last year with arranging the deliveries.
See Also: Kim Jong Un Covertly Supplying Artillery Shells To Vladimir Putin, US Says: Prepared To Counter This Activity
The prosecutors alleged that Seng, who directs a shipping agency and terminal operations company, used front companies and false documentation to hide the scheme and covertly supplied fuel to Pyongyang.
U.S. officials said his business helped enable Kim's nuclear proliferation programs.
The announcement from the Biden administration comes at a time when Washington and its allies are indulging in heightened tensions with North Korea.
Kim, on Thursday, fired at least six missiles into the sea, including a failed intercontinental ballistic missile that triggered evacuation warnings in Japan.
The U.S. has warned Kim's isolated nation of unspecified "additional costs and consequences" if Pyongyang detonates a nuclear test device, which experts think he will but not anytime soon.
Washington said it is willing to take "all necessary measures" to ensure the safety of the Americans as well as South Korea and Japan.
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