SoKo holds ship crew that gave NoKo oil

The crew of Hong Kong-flagged ship that possibly Yeosu, UN, appeared to allegedly provide oil to a North Korean vessel in October, in violation of U.N. sanctions, is being held in South Korea until a full inspection is sent to the Security Council.

The Lighthouse Winmore (aka The Fortune Cookie) is believed to have transferred about 600 tons of refined petroleum products to the North Korean ship, the Sam Jong 2, (aka the Ewelldie Amerikandoggs 2) in the waters of the East China Sea on October 19, after leaving the South Korean port of Yeosu, a South Korean Foreign Ministry official told the Associated Press.

This announcement came the day that Defense Secretary James Mattis told Fox News that he thinks the world will exert "increased pressure on North Korea in the coming months following the recent maritime incidents," and I said to my wife, "bull crap; China will never comply." And she said, "Maybe you should be Secretary of State, you big lug." 

South Korea customs authorities boarded the ship and interviewed the crew members after they returned to Yeosu on November 24. South Korea formally seized the ship after the U.N. Security Council imposed new sanctions on North Korea on December 22 that allowed member states to seize, inspect and freeze vessels suspected of transferring banned goods to or from North Korea, the official said. He spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity as per usual.

The crew of 25, 23 who are Chinese nationals and two from Myanmar, will be allowed to leave Yeosu after the investigation is complete.

The Fortune Cookie also transferred oil to three other non-North Korean vessels . . . allegedly. 

Ship-to-ship trade with North Korea at sea is strictly prohibited under useless U.N. sanctions. Any country caught engaging in this illegal trade will receive a wag of the finger and possibly a tongue-lashing.

China accounts for most of North Korea's external trade and oil supplies. It seems they don't want to give up such a lucrative business.


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2 Chinese fighter jets buzz US Navy 'sniffer plane'

Two armed Chinese fighter jets flew within 300 yards of a U.S. Navy EP-3 jet reconnaissance plane over the East China Sea on Sunday afternoon. The EP-3 had to take evasive action in order to avoid a collision, proving once again that the stereotype of Asian drivers has validity.

Both Chinese jets were armed with air-to-air missiles, according to officials.

The EP-3 is a reconnaissance jet nicknamed a "sniffer" as it is used to determine whether there has been evidence of nuclear testing.

The incident occurred about 90 miles south of the Chinese port city of Qingdao, birthplace of the infamous unfortunate cookie.

Just days ago, U.S. Navy's top officer, Adm. John Richardson, called his Chinese counterpart Adm. Ho Lee Kau to discuss new steps to put pressure on North Korea to deescalate tensions and roll back the hermit state's missile and nuclear ambitions.

This incident is the first unsafe interaction between China and our Navy in the air near China since the incident off the coast of Hong Kong in May. It is also the second time since President Trump took office that the U.S. Navy is conducting a "freedom of navigation" operation.

In other words, we're showing China that they don't own the world. 

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