(Bloomberg) -- The US and its partners including South Korea and Japan unveiled a new plan to keep an eye on the enforcement of sanctions on North Korea after a Russian veto earlier this year triggered the end of monitoring by a United Nations’ panel.
Nations participating in the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team will look to address threats from North Korea’s ballistic missile program and its weapons of mass destruction, according to a statement released Wednesday.
“The goal of the new mechanism is to assist the full implementation of UN sanctions on the DPRK by publishing information based on rigorous inquiry into sanctions violations and evasions attempts,” according to the statement, referring to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
The announcement comes a day after North Korea blew up sections of roads in its territory linking to the South, marking the latest escalation of tensions on the divided peninsula. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been increasing the level of threats against South Korea after saying he has the right to “annihilate” his southern neighbor.
The 11 nations participating in the program are Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand and the UK, in addition to the US, South Korea and Japan.
“Our preference would have been to continue the previous regime that was put in place by the Security Council. That avenue was prevented by Russian intransigence,” said Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell at a press conference in Seoul. “I believe that this grouping of nations that are animated by common purpose has the potential to actually surpass some of the work that was done previously.”
In March, Russia vetoed a UN Security Council resolution to extend the term of the panel of experts that has reported on North Korea’s development of its nuclear arsenal for 15 years, underscoring Pyongyang’s increasingly close ties with Moscow.
Reports by the panel of experts inform decisions on international sanctions established by the Security Council in a series of resolutions aimed at barring North Korea from developing into a nuclear-armed state. Pyongyang has repeatedly defied the resolutions and continues to develop nuclear warheads and missiles that would carry them.
Russian Support
North Korea’s Kim has stepped up his defiance of the US and its allies in recent years especially as he deepened cooperation with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Washington and Seoul have accused Pyongyang of bolstering Russia’s war in Ukraine by supplying Moscow with artillery and ammunition, charges that North Korea denies.
“We do see signs of enhanced DPRK material support to Russia which is being felt on the battlefield both artillery shells and missiles,” Campbell said at a later press briefing. He said reports of personnel being sent from North Korea to help Russia were still being evaluated.
The Kyiv Independent reported Tuesday that North Korea has sent 10,000 soldiers to Russia.
As for its nuclear arms development, Pyongyang last month released its first photos of a facility to enrich uranium for atomic bombs, showing leader Kim touring a plant at the center of a program that has been a point of friction with the US for more than 20 years.
(Adds further comments from Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell)
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.