By Blessing Chinagorom
The United States has said Russia appears to be intent on facilitating the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea DPRK’s illegal pursuit of weapons of mass destruction.
The accusation was made during the Press Briefing by the State Department Spokesman Mathew Miller who on Thursday expressed US’s disappointment on Russia’s veto of the United Nations Security Council 1718 Committee Panel of Experts mandate renewal.
The United States further expressed disappointment that the People’s Republic of China decided to abstain after 14 years of supporting this important mandate.
The United States explained that over the past 15 years, the 1718 Committee Panel of Experts has been gold standard for providing fact-based, independent analysis and the recommendations on the implementation of UN sanctions on the DPRK.
It pressed further that throughout those 15 years, the panel of experts enjoyed the Security Council’s unanimous support, and up until this year has been renewed by consensus.
The United States pointed out that Russia’s actions today have cynically undermined international peace and security, to advance the corrupt bargain that Moscow has struck with the DPRK.
“Moscow appears to be intent on facilitating the DPRK’s illegal pursuit of weapons of mass destruction, and its veto today was a self-interested effort to bury the panel’s reporting on its own collusion with the DPRK to secure weapons that it can use to further its aggression against Ukraine”, US accused.
The United States submitted that Russia alone will own the outcome of this veto: “a DPRK more emboldened to reckless behavior and destabilizing provocations, as well as reduced prospects for an enduring peace on the Korean Peninsula.
“Despite today’s veto and abstention, all Security Council resolutions and UN measures addressing the DPRK’s unlawful WMD and ballistic missile programs remain in effect.
“We will continue to work to counter DPRK’s unlawful actions, work with likeminded states through all available means to limit the threat posed by the DPRK, and respond to efforts by its enablers to shield the DPRK from responsibility”, United States said.
Russia’s veto came during a vote on a U.N. Security Council resolution that would have extended the mandate of a panel of experts monitoring sanctions on North Korea for a year, but which will now halt its operation when its current mandate expires at the end of April.
According to AP reports, the vote in 15-member council, with 13 in favor, Russia against, and China abstaining, has no impact on actual sanctions against North Korea, which remain in force.
Russia had never before tried to block the work of the panel of experts, which had been renewed annually by the U.N. Security Council for 14 years and reflected global opposition to North Korea’s expanding nuclear weapon program.