UNITED NATIONS, March 21 (Reuters) – The U.N. Security Council agreed on Monday to a Chinese request to take away sanctions on 4 ships that had been blacklisted for ties to Pyongyang after China secured assurances the vessels wouldn’t use North Korean crews, a U.S. official stated.

The ships had been amongst 31 vessels sanctioned by the 15-member council on March 2 as a result of they had been owned by North Korean delivery agency Ocean Maritime Management Company (OMM).

“We discovered that they are not OMM ships,” Chinese U.N. Ambassador Liu Jieyi instructed Reuters on Monday. “The basis for the listing of the ships is basically that they belong to OMM, so if you make a mistake then you correct the mistake.”

The U.S. official, talking on situation of anonymity, stated the Security Council committee on North Korea sanctions agreed to the request after China secured written commitments that the 4 ships would not use North Korean crews. He added that an official announcement was anticipated shortly. (Reporting by Michelle Nichols and Louis Charbonneau; Editing by Bernard Orr)

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