Sanctions against North Korea do not improve security, says Russia

The spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Maria Zakharova, made a statement this Friday (29 March 2024) regarding the veto on the extension of the mandate of the UN Panel of Experts (United Nations) responsible for supervise and enforce sanctions on North Korea.

In her statement, Zakharova stated that the Council cannot “act according to the old molds” in relation to the Asian country and that the sanctions applied did not help to improve security in the region.

“In the absence of mechanisms for reviewing sanctions measures towards mitigation, this instrument prevents the building of trust and the maintenance of political dialogue. UNSC sanctions [Conselho de Segurança da ONU] are accompanied by serious humanitarian consequences for the civilian population of the DPRK [República Democrática da Coreia], and this effect is further aggravated by illegal unilateral coercive measures.”said the spokeswoman.

Zakharova says that the country submitted proposals to the Council regarding international sanctions, such as a deadline for restrictive measures. The idea would be to review the restrictions adopted and make new decisions based on the Asian country’s response.

“Such a change in the UN Security Council’s sanctions policy could open new positive horizons in resolving the problems of the Korean Peninsula. However, our proposals were not simply ignored by the project authors, but were literally met with hostility,” these.

On Thursday (28 March), Russia vetoed the extension of the mandate for another year on the UN Security Council (United Nations). The working group’s mandate expires on April 30. The vote was 13 votes to 1 with one abstention from China.

Russia’s representative on the Council, Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia, stated that the situation in North Korea “fundamentally changed” and that the sanctions regime is “losing relevance”. He says that the policy adopted by Western countries “strangles” Pyongyang and imposes a “heavy burden” to the country’s population.

The Republic of North Korea was founded in 1948, when it was divided with what is now South Korea. The country is led by Kim Jong-un, whose official title is “supreme leader”, since the death of his father , Kim Jong-il, in 2011. Succession in command of the country only occurs within the same family.