A report by the Institute for Science and International Security, an American think-tank, has reported that Malta is allegedly responsible for violating United Nations Security Council Resolutions with regards to North Korea in the area of business and financial-related violations.

According to the report, twenty-eight countries were mentioned for non-military related cases of alleged sanctions violations that involved joint ventures, facilitating activities of front companies, financial transaction enablement, employment of North Korean nationals, travel violations, construction contracts, brokering, and allowing North Korea to use property for commercial purposes.

Malta was listed with 15 other states where several alleged business and financial-related violations occurred as joint ventures with DPRK actors.

The report stated that Malta “allegedly failed to “prohibit, […] in their territories, the opening, maintenance and operation of all joint ventures” with the DPRK.

Founded in 1993, the Institute for Science and International Security is a non-profit, non-partisan institution dedicated to informing the public about science and policy issues affecting international security. Its primary focus is on stopping the spread of nuclear weapons and related technology to additional nations and to terrorists, bringing about greater transparency of nuclear activities worldwide, strengthening the international non-proliferation regime, and achieving deep cuts in nuclear arsenals.

The 56 countries involved in alleged violations during the reporting period, listed in alphabetical order, were: Algeria*, Belize, Botswana, British Virgin Islands, Cambodia, China, Comoros, Congo (Democratic Republic of), Côte d’Ivoire, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, France, Georgia, Ghana, Guinea, Honduras, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Laos, Lebanon, Libya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, New Zealand*, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Panama, Philippines, Poland, Russia, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore*, South Africa, Sudan, Syria, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam, Yemen (Houthi faction), and Zambia.

Since 2006, the UN Security Council has issued no less than 9 sets of sanctions against the rogue Asian state, many of which were in reaction to Pyongyang’s controversial intercontinental ballistic missile tests.