Sri Lanka’s foreign minister has denied that his government purchased weapons from North Korea, in a potential breach of United Nations sanctions, just days after finance minister Basil Rajapaksa reportedly admitted to using ‘black market’ cash to buy arms.
In a statement released this morning, Sri Lanka’s foreign minister G L Peiris “refutes the alleged purchase of weapons from North Korea”.
“The Foreign Ministry wishes to state that Foreign Minister Prof. G. L. Peiris has spoken in this regard with his Cabinet colleague, Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa who has categorically denied the comments attributed to him in the said news item,” it continued.
Rajapaksa, who holds US citizenship, told The Sunday Divayina this week that during the peak of Sri Lanka’s military offensive, he and other Sri Lankan officials would personally visit the ‘Pettah’ Business District in Colombo to speak with traders and obtain dollars in the black market.
The money would then be used to purchase arms from North Korea, he continued.
Sri Lankan officials have denied such purchases for years, despite reports of interest in North Korean weapons in a 2009 leaked US-embassy cable.
North Korea has been subjected to several United Nations-backed sanctions which ban the trade of several arms and military equipment.
Not only did the interview state the Sri Lankan finance minister openly admit that his government may have breached United Nations sanctions, but Rajapaksa himself is now potentially open to prosecution.
Read more about Rajapaksa’s revelation here: Sri Lanka admits buying weapons from North Korea through ‘Black Market’ despite sanctions