On September 13, 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met at the Amur Vostok Cosmodrome.
Vladimir Smirnov | AFP | Getty Images
Russia has effectively disbanded a panel of experts monitoring long-running U.N. sanctions against North Korea, three former members of the panel told Reuters, signaling a “grave outlook” for sanctions enforcement.
Russia veto On Thursday, the multinational panel of experts that has monitored U.N. sanctions imposed on North Korea over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs for the past 15 years gave its annual update.
China, North Korea’s only military ally and largest trading partner, abstained from the vote. Beijing and Moscow deny violating sanctions but have blocked new measures at the U.N. Security Council and advocated lifting some existing sanctions on North Korea, blaming the West and its allies for exacerbating tensions.
Diplomats say another vote to try to extend the authorization before it expires on April 30 seems unlikely.
The United States and South Korea said the veto highlighted a rare diplomatic dividend for Pyongyang and underlined its deepening ties with Moscow, which include an unprecedented shipment of ballistic missiles and ammunition for use in the war in Ukraine and a possible fuel supply to North Korean officials. and independent analysts.
Moscow and Pyongyang both deny the arms deal but have vowed to deepen military ties with Russia. Spy chief visits North Korea This week it vowed to present a united front against “attempts by external forces to increase pressure”.
Aaron Arnold, a former member of the panel and now a sanctions expert at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), said the vote was significant and represented a major turning point in the international sanctions regime against North Korea.
“Russia’s vote, coupled with its flagrant violation of sanctions by purchasing conventional weapons from North Korea, its years-long history of ignoring its obligations, and at least tacit support from China, points to a grim future for the North Korean sanctions regime,” he said. Use the abbreviation for North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
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Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations, Vassily Nebenzia, criticized the experts’ work, saying before the vote that its report had been reduced to “catering to Western practices, reprinting biased information and analyzing newspaper headlines and Poor quality photos”.
Even the panel’s supporters acknowledge growing constraints on its work but blame it on Chinese and Russian members for blocking or obfuscating unfavorable findings.
“The latest report is very interesting because while it touches on some useful details about finance and overseas workers, it barely mentions China,” said a former senior member who asked not to be named because of diplomatic sensitivities. “If you’re talking about sanctions violations and you don’t mention China, that’s not a very accurate reflection of what’s actually going on.”
The former member said that while the panel’s reports may look like a comprehensive summary, they are more like a small piece of a larger puzzle that often leaves out some of the most important pieces.
The end of the panel could lead to more trilateral cooperation between Washington, Seoul and Tokyo and the potential for more evidence of sanctions violations to be released to the public, as Russia and China’s influence over headlines will be limited as the U.N. Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Seoul’s Ewha University, said the group’s disappearance was made up of experts.
Hugh Griffiths, the former head of the panel and now a sanctions adviser, said continued efforts will be found as global banks and insurance companies have come to rely on independent reports to freeze and close accounts linked to North Korea’s overseas sanctions evasion network. reporting mechanism.
Deepening Russia-North Korea Relations
Griffiths said the veto showed Russia did not want UN Security Council bodies to report on its illegal purchases of North Korea’s ballistic missiles and conventional artillery ammunition.
“Russia’s veto signals that Putin will step up ballistic missile and embargo cooperation with North Korea,” he said.
Jenny Tang of 38 North, a Washington-based North Korea monitoring project, said the vote showed how strong ties between Russia and North Korea have become.
“This highlights that in the current geopolitical environment, new sanctions should not be expected to be imposed at the UN Security Council level and that countries now have a greater burden to deal with sanctions monitoring,” she said.
United States and South Korea A new working group has been established This week is aimed at preventing North Korea from procuring illicit oil, particularly from Russia.
The two countries also impose unilateral sanctions Targets individuals and entities based in Russia, China and the United Arab Emirates, accusing them of funding Pyongyang’s weapons programs.
South Korea’s Unification Ministry, which handles relations with North Korea, called the vote “extremely regrettable.”
The most visible enforcement of sanctions has been led by the United States and its partners, sometimes in conflict with China or Russia.
Canada blames Chinese plane “Wantful” harassment Its reconnaissance planes participate in United Nations efforts to impose sanctions on North Korea. Beijing called the Canadian flight “provocative.”
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