Russia vetoes UN monitoring of NKorea

SEOUL: South Korea slammed Russia’s “irresponsible” veto blocking the renewal of a panel of UN experts monitoring international sanctions on North Korea, with the vote following accusations Pyongyang is aiding Moscow in its war in Ukraine.

South Korea “clearly points out that the Russian Federation, despite its status as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, has made an irresponsible decision,” Seoul’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

The move, which comes weeks after the body said it was investigating reports of arms transfers between Pyongyang and Moscow, was met with a flurry of criticism, from Ukraine and the United States.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called the veto “a guilty plea” by Russia, while the United States described it as a “self-interested effort to bury the panel’s reporting on [Moscow’s] own collusion” with North Korea.

The veto at the Security Council does not remove the sanctions on North Korea, but it spells the end for the group monitoring their implementation — and myriad alleged violations.

The panel’s mandate expires at the end of April.

North Korea has been under mounting sanctions since 2006, put in place by the UN Security Council in response to its nuclear program.

Since 2019, Russia and China have tried to persuade the Security Council to ease the sanctions, which have no expiration date.

The council has long been divided on the issue, with China’s deputy ambassador Geng Shuang arguing Thursday that the sanctions “have exacerbated tensions and confrontation with a serious negative impact on the humanitarian situation.”

China abstained rather than joining Russia in the veto.

All other members had voted in favor of renewing the panel’s mandate.