Russia blocks extension of North Korea sanctions monitoring

The US says Russian veto at the UN Security Council is aimed at shielding Moscow’s arms transfers.

Russia’s ambassador to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, said North Korea sanctions were no longer helpful to resolving tensions on the peninsula. Picture: AFP

Russia blocked the UN from monitoring international sanctions against North Korea on Thursday, in a move that the US and its allies said was aimed at preventing scrutiny of the growing arms pipeline between Pyongyang and Moscow.

Russia vetoed a UN Security Council resolution to extend the mandate of an independent group of specialists that document evasions of sanctions imposed on North Korea because of its nuclear and missile programs.

“Russia’s veto is nothing more than an attempt to silence independent, objective investigations into persistent violations of Security Council resolutions by the DPRK and by Russia itself,” Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US ambassador to the UN, said using the acronym for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

The panel of experts was established in 2009, and its comprehensive assessments have covered advances in North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs as well as Pyongyang’s efforts to circumvent sanctions through illicit trade, cyber theft and other means.

Russia’s ambassador to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, questioned the value of the panel’s work and suggested Moscow would be willing to extend the experts’ work only if a time limit was put on North Korea sanctions, which he said were no longer helpful to resolving tensions on the peninsula.

Thirteen members of the 15-member council voted to extend the mandate of the panel for another year while China abstained. The panel’s work will officially finish at the end of April.

The Security Council voted for sanctions after North Korea conducted a nuclear test in 2006, and it has added more over the years as North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs have progressed. Thursday’s vote won’t affect the sanctions themselves, which are still in effect.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, the conflict has turned into war of attrition, prompting Moscow to turn to Iran and North Korea to supplement its efforts to produce arms at home. In September, Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met at a spaceport in Russia’s far east and pledged greater co-operation on economic and security issues.

The growing ties between Russia and North Korea, including Pyongyang’s provision of ballistic missiles, have spurred security concerns on several fronts. Kyiv and its partners fear that Pyongyang will supply Moscow with more firepower as Russia seeks to overcome Ukraine’s defences. Another worry is that oil and other goods provided as payment by Russia will make it easier for North Korea to weather sanctions intended to choke off funds for Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs.

The panel’s most recent assessment, which was completed earlier this year, notes that North Korea was shipping military equipment and munitions to Russia for use in Ukraine, citing reports from unnamed countries. At least four Russian-flagged vessels, it noted, had been observed on satellite imagery transporting military cargo between August and December last year. The military equipment was unloaded and sent by rail from Russia’s far east to Tikhoretsk, 290km from the Ukrainian border.

“The panel spoke with a higher level of authority than individual governments and reflected a consensus view among experts,” said Jenny Town of the Stimson Centre, a Washington think tank. “It wasn’t the only source of information but it was helpful in highlighting weaknesses in the sanctions regime.”

The Wall Street Journal