N. Korean ships allowed into port for humanitarian reasons

China’s Foreign Ministry on Friday said several North Korean ships were allowed to dock at a Chinese coal port for humanitarian reasons, following a report from NK News a day earlier. Since the publication of the article, two additional vessels were allowed to enter Jingtang port – including one that is sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), data from ship-tracking service Marine Traffic shows. “As for some later reports claiming that some vessels might dock at Chinese ports, the thing is that if these vessels continue sailing on sea or drifting outside the ports, the crew members will encounter difficulties that warrant our humanitarian help,” “However, China is serious in implementing the [UN’s] released notice. Never will there be a case when the notice or the Security Council resolutions are violated,” Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lu Kang said at a regular press conference in Beijing. While CNN reports that some of the ships have been waiting outside the port since February, the Chinese Foreign Ministry did not elaborate on the humanitarian difficulties the vessels were experiencing, or what warranted six ships entering the port in northeast China almost simultaneously.