The United States, South Korea, and Japan announced on Wednesday the creation of a new trilateral team, operating outside the United Nations, to monitor the implementation of sanctions against North Korea.
The new body, called the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team, was formed after Russia vetoed the annual renewal of a UN panel of experts in March. That panel had been overseeing the enforcement of sanctions on North Korea for the past 15 years. China abstained from the vote.
A South Korean official stated that the new team aims to continue the work previously done by the UN panel, including issuing regular reports on sanctions enforcement. The team will also include participation from eight other countries, including Britain, France, and Germany.
The panel was formally launched during a joint press conference in Seoul, attended by US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, South Korea’s First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun, Japan’s Vice Foreign Minister Masataka Okano, and the ambassadors of the eight participating nations.
During the press conference, Kim said: “There have been many discussions about how to establish an effective monitoring system to replace the UN panel. However, even during these discussions, North Korea has continued to violate sanctions, so we believed it was necessary to act quickly and fill the gap without further delay.”
Kim also noted that while efforts to revive the UN panel will continue, the new team is open to any country willing to assist in ensuring that sanctions against North Korea are properly enforced.
Campbell suggested that Russia’s veto was influenced by the UN panel’s previous report, which implicated Moscow in illegally procuring military equipment and ammunition from North Korea for its war in Ukraine.
“The potential for this to become a significant effort to track North Korea’s provocations and hold it accountable is very real. This is a big step in the right direction,” Campbell said.
Both Washington and Seoul remain opposed to any military alliance between North Korea and Russia. While Moscow and Pyongyang have denied accusations of arms transfers, they have pledged to strengthen military ties, culminating in the signing of a mutual defense pact at a summit in June.
