The US has seized a North Korean cargo ship over alleged sanctions violations.
Justice officials say the 17,000-tonne 'Wise Honest' was being used to ship coal from North Korea and deliver heavy machinery to the country.
They claim that payments for ship maintenance and improvements were made in US dollars through 'unwitting US banks' - allegedly violating US and UN sanctions in the process.
Officials claimed the "sanctions-busting ship is now out of service".
US attorney for the Southern District of New York, Geoffrey Berman, said it marks the first-ever seizure of a North Korean cargo ship for violating international sanctions.
Mr Berman explained: "Our office uncovered North Korea’s scheme to export tons of high-grade coal to foreign buyers by concealing the origin of their ship, the Wise Honest.
"This scheme not only allowed North Korea to evade sanctions, but the Wise Honest was also used to import heavy machinery to North Korea, helping expand North Korea’s capabilities and continuing the cycle of sanctions evasion.
"With this seizure, we have significantly disrupted that cycle."
He added: "We are willing and able to deploy the full array of law enforcement tools to detect, deter, and prosecute North Korea’s deceptive attempts to evade sanctions."
The US justice department says the ship is currently in the custody of the US.
Crippling international sanctions have targeted North Korean exports - banning or severely restricting the country's capacity to trade various resources.
Despite recent efforts to ease tensions between North Korea and the US, the Trump administration has insisted sanctions must remain in place until the secretive state achieves denuclearisation.
The most recent high-level talks between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un collapsed without agreement in February.
