Australian charged with helping North Korea get weapons

An Australian man has been arrested for allegedly working with North Korea and assisting the hermit state buy weapons of mass destruction.

The 59-year-old from Sydney was apprehended by Australian Federal Police units on Sunday morning, charged with brokering and discussing the supply of weapons of mass destruction.

The alleged economic agent has breached Australian and United Nations laws. 

The UN Security Council has placed three sanctions on North Korea over the past 12 months for their increasingly powerful nuclear and missile tests. 

Experts believe Kim Jong-un may be planning another series of trials for Sunday December 17 which marks the anniversary of his father’s death.

Previous North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il died on that date in 2011. In the past, Pyongyang has marked such commemorations with rocket tests and military drills. 

Speaking while on a visit to Japan, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said: ‘The worst possible thing that could happen would be for us all to sleepwalk into a war that might have very dramatic circumstances.’

Guterres urged sanctions need to be implemented ‘by North Korea first of all, but also fully implemented by all the other countries whose role is crucial’.

He urged ‘diplomatic engagement that allows for…denuclearisation (of the Korean peninsula) to take place in a peaceful way’.

‘It is important for all parties to understand the urgency of finding a solution,’ he told reporters at a later briefing.