US, South Korea, Japan launch multinational group to monitor North Korea sanctions
The U.S., South Korea, and Japan launched a new multinational group to monitor the implementation of sanctions against North Korea, Reuters reported on Oct. 16.
The move came after Russia and China blocked monitoring activities at the United Nations. In March, Moscow vetoed the annual renewal of the panel of experts monitoring U.N. sanctions against Pyongyang over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
The Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team (MSMT) is a multilateral mechanism to monitor and report violations and evasions of the sanction measures stipulated in the relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions, the U.S. Department of State said.
"The goal of the new mechanism is to assist the full implementation of U.N. sanctions on (North Korea) by publishing information based on rigorous inquiry into sanctions violations and evasion attempts," the statement read.
A number of nations said they are open to dialogue and called on other states to join in maintaining international security in the face of ongoing threats from North Korea.
The U.N. Security Council adopted several sanctions against North Korea in 2006 to rein in its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, while the expert panel was created in 2009. Moscow's veto halts the work of the panel but does not cancel the sanctions themselves.
Moscow and Pyongyang have deepened military cooperation as Russia seeks arms and other support in its full-scale war against Ukraine. North Korea has been supplying Russia with ballistic missiles and vast quantities of artillery shells.
The two countries signed a mutual defense pact during Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Pyongyang earlier this year.
President Volodymyr Zelensky recently accused Pyongyang of sending personnel to support Russia and said that Moscow plans to "actually involve" North Korea in the war in the coming months.
A Western diplomat familiar with the matter told the Kyiv Independent on Oct. 15 that Pyongyang has sent 10,000 soldiers to Russia, but it is unclear in what capacity.
Chris York
