At UN, US slams Russia for 'cynically' protecting N.Korea

At UN, US slams Russia for 'cynically' protecting N.Korea
by AFP Staff Writers
United Nations, United States (AFP) May 8, 2025

The United States on Wednesday denounced Russia for "cynically obstructing" the monitoring of North Korea's compliance with UN sanctions, saying Moscow was trying to dodge criticism for using Pyongyang's weapons in its war with Ukraine.

Several Security Council members, including the United States and South Korea, convened a meeting on the issue to heighten awareness of Moscow's potential sanctions-busting actions, the interim US envoy said.

"Today's briefing shows the Council will continue to ensure member states are aware of sanctions violations and evasion activity that generate revenue" for North Korea's "unlawful" weapons programs "despite Russia's veto," said the envoy, Dorothy Shea.

In March 2024, by vetoing a Security Council resolution, Russia effectively ended the system in place to monitor Pyongyang's compliance with UN sanctions first implemented in 2006 and subsequently strengthened several times.

The committee responsible for that monitoring no longer exists.

"The DPRK continues brazenly to violate the Council's resolutions by exporting coal and iron ore to China, the proceeds of which directly fund its unlawful WMD and ballistic missile programs," Shea said, using an acronym for North Korea's official name.

The US envoy said that since September 2023, North Korea has transferred "over 24,000 containers of munitions and munitions-related material, and well over 100 ballistic missiles to Russia for use against Ukraine."

"It is clear from evidence presented today that Russia is cynically obstructing the Council on DPRK sanctions implementation in order to try to escape reproach for its own violations."

South Korean Ambassador Joonkook Hwang agreed, denouncing the "illegal military cooperation between Russia and North Korea."

"As Pyongyang's actions clearly and continuously defy the Council's decisions, the Council should consider strengthening existing sanctions, not weakening them," he said.

In May 2022, Russia and China vetoed a resolution imposing new sanctions against Pyongyang, and have advocated for easing sanctions since 2019.

The current sanctions on North Korea have no end date.

North Korea fires flurry of short-range ballistic missiles
Seoul (AFP) May 8, 2025 - North Korea fired multiple types of short-range ballistic missiles Thursday, South Korea's military said, around a week after leader Kim Jong Un tested a new weapons system for his latest warship.

Seoul's military said it had "detected the launch of various types of short-range ballistic missiles," the Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

The missiles were "fired from the Wonsan area of North Korea into the East Sea between approximately 08:10 and 09:20 today (from 2310 GMT Wednesday)," they added, referring to the body of water also known as the Sea of Japan.

The missiles flew up to about 800 kilometers before splashing down in waters to the east of the peninsula, the JCS said, adding it strongly condemned the North for a "clear act of provocation that poses a serious threat to peace and stability".

"Our military, under the strong South Korea-US combined defense posture, is closely monitoring various North Korean activities to prevent any misjudgment (by the North)," it said in a statement.

The launch, the nuclear-armed North's first missile test since March, came about a week after Kim oversaw the test-firing of a new warship weapons system.

Pyongyang unveiled the 5,000-ton destroyer-class vessel named Choe Hyon last month.

North Korea claims the vessel was equipped with the "most powerful weapons", and that it would "enter into operation early next year".

Some analysts have said the ship could be equipped with short-range tactical nuclear missiles -- although North Korea has not proven it has the ability to miniaturise its nukes.

The South Korean military has said the destroyer could have been developed with Russian help -- possibly in exchange for Pyongyang deploying thousands of troops to help Moscow fight Kyiv.

Russia and North Korea also recently announced that they had started building the first road bridge linking the two neighbours.

North Korea launched a flurry of ballistic missiles last year in violation of UN sanctions.

Experts have long warned that the nuclear-armed North may be testing weapons for export to Russia for use against Ukraine.

The launch also came as Russia prepared to hold World War II Victory Day commemorations, with world leaders including China's Xi Jinping expected to attend -- but not Pyongyang's Kim.

A three-day truce in the conflict with Ukraine has been ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin to coincide with the celebrations, although Kyiv has never agreed to it and has dismissed it as political theatre.

The Thursday missile launch appears to "serve as a reminder of North Korea's contribution and stake in Russia's apparent efforts to commemorate Victory Day as a triumph over Ukraine," Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, told AFP.

- Testing, testing -

Japan's defence ministry said there was no impact on Japan from the North Korean missiles, according to public broadcaster NHK.

Kim earlier this week inspected shell manufacturing at munitions factories, with state media claiming the country's shell output had increased dramatically in recent months.

Given the latest development, it is "entirely possible" that Thursday's missile launch "served as a test firing prior to potential export to Russia", North Korean studies scholar Ahn Chan-il told AFP.

South Korea's military said in early March that the North fired "multiple unidentified ballistic missiles", the same day Seoul and Washington began a major annual joint military drill known as Freedom Shield.

Pyongyang also carried out a test-launch of strategic cruise missiles in the Yellow Sea in late February, which it said showed off "counterattack capabilities".

Washington -- Seoul's key security ally -- has in recent years ramped up joint military exercises and increased the presence of strategic US assets, such as an aircraft carrier and a nuclear-powered submarine, in the region to deter the North.

Pyongyang has repeatedly declared itself an "irreversible" nuclear weapons state and routinely denounces joint US-South Korea drills as rehearsals for invasion.

The two Koreas are technically still at war as the 1950-1953 conflict ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty.

With relations souring, the North last year blew up roads and railways connecting it to the South and fortified areas of the border with more mines.

In early April, South Korea's military said its troops fired warning shots when around 10 North Korean soldiers briefly crossed the heavily fortified border that divides the peninsula.