S. Korea-led int'l monitoring group set to release 1st report on NK sanctions
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, 5th from left, First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun, center, and Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Masataka Okano, 7th from left, pose for a photo with the ambassadors of the six participating countries in a multilateral sanctions monitoring team as they announced its launch in a press conference at the foreign ministry in Seoul, Oct. 16, 2024. Yonhap
An international monitoring group led by South Korea is set to release its first report on sanctions enforcement on North Korea, a year after the U.N. panel overseeing the implementation was disbanded following a Russian veto, a Seoul official said Tuesday.
South Korea and 10 other countries, including the United States and Japan, launched the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team (MSMT) in October last year, as an alternative framework to the U.N. Panel of Experts to ensure the full implementation of U.N. Security Council sanctions against Pyongyang over its nuclear and weapons programs.
"The first MSMT report is in its final stage of publication and will be released soon," a foreign ministry official said.
The experts' panel was disbanded in April last year after Russia vetoed to renew the mandate to continue the sanctions monitoring.
"We once again express deep regret over Russia's unilateral decision to dismantle the Panel of Experts, which went against the consensus of the international community," the official said.
"Over the past year, the government has stepped up efforts to respond effectively to North Korea's sanctions violations," he said.
Since the disbandment of the panel, South Korea has imposed independent sanctions on seven vessels, 52 individuals, and 26 entities involved in illicit maritime activities, overseas labor dispatch, and arms transfers between Russia and North Korea, according to the foreign ministry.