A North Korean vessel not seen in nearly five years berthed at a Chinese coal terminal this month, ship tracking data shows, in what one expert described as the latest sign that China continues to turn a blind eye to the DPRK’s illicit fuel trade.

According to maritime tracker MarineTraffic, the Tae Dong Mun (IMO 9011399, AKA Pole Star 1) appeared northwest of the Chinese port of Yantai on Jan. 2 at 8:23 UTC. Until then, the ship had not been tracked via automatic identification system (AIS) data since Jan. 2017, when it was undergoing inspections at the same port.[/p