On the 28th, the UN Security Council voted on the resolution to extend the term of the panel of experts and it was rejected
The United Nations Security Council’s (UNSC) panel of experts, who monitor the implementation of sanctions against North Korea, will cease operations at the end of next month.
On the 28th (local time), the UNSC held a meeting and voted on the resolution to extend the term of the panel of experts under the Sanctions Committee against North Korea. However, Russia, a permanent member of the UNSC, vetoed the resolution. Thirteen of the 15 council members voted in favor, and one abstained.
The panel of experts assisting the UNSC Sanctions Committee against North Korea has investigated allegations of sanction violations by North Korea. It has issued in-depth reports on violations of sanctions implementation twice a year.
With the failure to adopt the resolution, the term of the panel of experts under the Sanctions Committee against North Korea will end on April 30. The panel, inaugurated in response to North Korea’s second nuclear test in 2009, consisted of eight experts, including those dispatched by permanent council members. Until now, the council has extended the panel’s term by one year each March by adopting a resolution.
Russia is known to have exercised its veto because this resolution did not reflect its request to establish a sunset clause in the sanctions against North Korea. This is merely a pretext for exercising the veto, and the general analysis is that it has become burdensome to maintain the panel due to arms trade with North Korea.
As Russia’s weapons became scarce in the Russia-Ukraine war, North Korea stepped in to help. In return, Russia is known to have transferred long-range missile technology that North Korea needed. A notable instance of this close relationship between North Korea and Russia was the summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin held in Russia last September.
If the panel of experts ceases its activities, it will lose a reliable means to inform UN member countries of North Korea’s sanctions violations. The annual panel report published this month specifically included photos of Russia’s arms trade with North Korea, a violation of sanctions against North Korea.
Despite numerous circumstantial evidence, Russia is currently denying the fact of arms trade with North Korea, claiming there is no clear evidence. However, it is presumed that Russia is aware the burden could increase if additional evidence of sanctions violations is specified in future panel reports.
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