Russia vetoed on Thursday (28) a United Nations resolution that would have renewed an independent panel of experts investigating violations of Security Council sanctions by North Korea, at a time when Pyongyang has become an important supplier of munitions to Moscow's war against Ukraine.
In recent years, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has overseen a massive increase in Pyongyang's ballistic missile program, with dozens of tests in a year, including long-range intercontinental ballistic missiles that could, in theory, reach the mainland United States. .
International sanctions and UN investigations into North Korea's illegal weapons program were previously supported by Russia. But relations between Moscow and the West are at a historically low level due to the war in Ukraine. Facing increasing international ostracism – and a severe ammunition shortage – Russian President Vladimir Putin has become increasingly dependent on his North Korean counterpart, Kim Jong Un.
North Korea has also gained a powerful backer in the UN, which wields veto power.
Russian UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told the Security Council that the UN sanctions regime imposed on Pyongyang, aimed at preventing North Korea from carrying out nuclear tests or launching ballistic missiles, is “losing its relevance ” and is “disconnected from reality,” according to a UN press release.
Since UN Resolution 1718 was passed in 2006, establishing the seven-member panel, sanctions on North Korea have neither achieved their objectives nor contributed to an improvement in the situation on the Korean Peninsula, Russia said.
Nebenzia said Thursday that a U.S.-led coalition of countries wanted to strangle Pyongyang, a situation that affects Russia's national security.
Although UN sanctions prohibit arms transfers to or from North Korea, Kim's regime has become a major arms supplier to Putin's war effort in Ukraine.
South Korea's defense minister said in February that North Korea's munitions factories are operating at full capacity to produce weapons to send to Russia, including millions of artillery rounds.
Ukraine also said it found debris from North Korean-made ballistic missiles following attacks on targets in the country.
The vote in the 15-member Security Council on Thursday was 13 in favor, Russia opposed and China abstained. But because Russia holds veto power, the resolution to continue the work of the expert panel failed.
British Ambassador to the UN, Barbara Woodward, called the Russian veto “deeply worrying”.
“This veto does not demonstrate concern for the North Korean people or the effectiveness of sanctions,” Woodward told the Security Council. Adding that “this is about Russia gaining the freedom to flee and violate sanctions in the search for weapons to be used against Ukraine.”
“This veto harms the panel’s work; the integrity of the international nuclear non-proliferation regime; and the credibility of this Council in upholding UN Security Council resolutions,” Woodward said, adding that the panel of experts “played a vital role in restraining” North Korea over the past decade.
US Deputy Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood asked how a civilized nation could block approval.
“You silenced the panel of experts today, but you will never silence those who favor a non-proliferation regime,” Wood told Russia.
South Korea's Foreign Ministry also called Russia's decision “irresponsible.”
Source: CNN Brasil
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