South Korea’s Ambassador to the United Nations criticized Russia for exercising its veto to block the renewal of a UN panel that monitors sanctions against North Korea. “Russia did not want the watchtower, the panel, to shine light on its dark spot,” said Ambassador Hwang Joon-kook.
The UN General Assembly convened at the UN headquarters in New York on April 11. to discuss the recent failure to renew an independent panel of experts investigating North Korea’s violations of UN sanctions. For the past 15 years, the Security Council has renewed the panel’s term annually, but Russia blocked the latest extension on Mar. 28.
According to a 2022 UN General Assembly resolution, if a permanent member exercises its veto in a Security Council meeting, the President of the General Assembly must convene a formal meeting within ten working days to discuss the use of the veto. This system was introduced to prevent the abuse of the veto power by permanent members.
During the Security Council meeting, South Korea condemned Russia for exercising its veto to “cover up” violations of Security Council resolutions. “The panel included in its recent report that it had been investigating reports of arms deals between the Russian Federation and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), which constitutes clear violations of multiple Security Council resolutions,” Ambassador Hwang said.
“The veto tarnished the authority of the Security Council, for that veto was simply used to gag the panel’s reporting on the veto-wielding council member’s unlawful procurement of weapons from the DPRK to use in its continued war of aggression in Ukraine,” he added. “The veto sends a dangerous message to potential proliferators and undermines the global non-proliferation regime.”
Kim Sung-hoon, a counselor at the South Korean mission to the UN, continued Ambassador Hwang’s speech after Hwang left the podium due to a sudden nosebleed. “Russia demanded a sunset clause on the entire sanctions, attaching completely irrelevant and unconvincing terms to abolish the entire sanctions regime,” Kim said. “It’s totally unacceptable, especially when the DPRK continues its nuclear and missile program with its dangerous provocations and more aggressive nuclear policy.”
Before using its veto, Russia insisted on a sunset clause for the DPRK to end the sanctions measures in 2025. “Needless to say, none of the P3 or E10 could support the proposal,” Kim added.
The Security Council consists of ten elected members, called the E10, and five permanent members - the United States, China, France, Russia, and the United Kingdom - known as the P5. The P3 is the P5 minus Russia and China.
“In this regard, it is disappointing that China did not come forward in defending the Security Council’s essential mechanism and instead abstained on the resolution,” said Kim.
Russian Ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebenzya stated that Russia plans to submit a draft resolution on a one-year extension of the panel’s mandate with a “clear determination of the imperative for the council to take a decision on updating the perimeters of the North Korean sanctions regime.”
North Korean Ambassador to the UN Kim Song said, “The DPRK highly appreciates the Russian Federation’s veto.” He asserted that the UN Security Council’s sanctions are a product of the “heinous hostile policy” of the U.S.
Ambassador Hwang is reportedly in good health. Hwang and his delegation had been under significant pressure after Russia abruptly overturned a panel that had been operating effectively for 15 years, according to people familiar with the matter.
