UN Reminds Russia Must Comply With Sanctions Against North Korea

UN DOC/Secretary General Antonio Guterres. (Wikimedia Commons/Pal humanitariano do Plan to pass) Share:

JAKARTA - Vladimir Putin's visit to North Korea has now become a discussion of the international community. Russia is reminded to comply with UN sanctions against North Korea.

This was conveyed by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in response to the meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un who agreed to provide immediate military assistance if one of the countries faced armed aggression.

The agreement agreement is in line with US accusations that Pyongyang had transferred weapons to Russia to be used against Ukraine, which they attacked in February 2022. Both Moscow and Pyongyang denied the allegations.

The UN Security Council will meet on June 28 to discuss North Korea, diplomats said, at the request of the US, France, Britain, South Korea, and Japan, who wish to discuss arms transfers by Pyongyang violating council resolutions.

Officially known as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), North Korea has been under UN sanctions since 2006 due to its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, and the move has been strengthened for years with Russian support.

"There are sanctions approved by the Security Council in connection with the DPRK," Guterres told reporters, reported by Reuters, Saturday, June 22. "Any relationship any country has with the DPRK, including the Russian Federation, must fully comply with these sanctions."

Russia's mission to the United Nations declined to comment on Guterres' statement.

Over the past few years, the Security Council, which consists of 15 countries, has different opinions on how to deal with Pyongyang. Russia and China say greater sanctions will not help and want such actions to be relaxed.

They suggested that some sanctions be lifted in December 2019 but never voted against their draft resolution.