The reported sinking of a North Korean freighter after a collision with a Chinese ship has underscored the dangers of DPRK maritime practices, in which vessels sail on so-called dark voyages to smuggle sanctioned energy resources.

The unnamed freighter suspected of carrying coal ended up at the bottom of the Yellow Sea after the crash in late February, leaving nearly two dozen DPRK seamen dead, Yonhap News Agency reported on Thursday, citing informed sources.

Dense fog that obscured visibility reportedly played a role, but the DPRK vessel had also turned off its automatic identification system (AIS) — a kind of