Russia ends UN committee monitoring sanctions against North Korea’s nuclear program

The 15 members of the UN Security Council had to decide on the future of a UN committee that monitors international sanctions against North Korea’s nuclear program.

The United Nations began imposing sanctions on North Korea in 2006. That year, the country’s first nuclear test took place. In the following years, the UN Security Council adopted more and more resolutions to tighten sanctions. The last resolution was adopted in 2017. However, it has not stopped North Korea from continuing its testing.

The committee to monitor the sanctions has been in existence for 14 years. In a recent report, UN experts investigated 58 North Korean cyber attacks that may have yielded 2.7 billion euros. That money could be used, among other things, in the development of weapons of mass destruction.

The extension of the mandate has never been a problem, until now. However, during the vote to extend the commission’s mandate, Russia decided to use its veto. The other 13 members voted in favor, China decided to abstain.

The veto does not mean that sanctions against North Korea will end, but it does mean that the oversight committee will disappear. The mandate expires at the end of April.