Why did North Korea call the joint sanctions statement a strategic failure?

A North Korean foreign ministry spokesperson argued that the United States and Western countries lacked the means and ability to prove sanctions were effective. The spokesperson also said the sanctions reflected what North Korea described as a hostile policy toward the country.

What did the countries and the EU say they would do about North Korea sanctions?

The 11 countries and the European Union reaffirmed their commitment to monitoring North Korean activities that violate U.N. Security Council sanctions resolutions. They also welcomed new sanctions imposed by the United States, Australia and the EU over North Korean cyberactivities and overseas worker deployments.

What is the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team, and why was it established?

The Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team is a group of 11 countries that monitors North Korea-related sanctions activity. It was established after Russia vetoed a resolution to extend the mandate of the U.N. expert panel responsible for monitoring sanctions enforcement, leading to the panel’s disbandment in April 2024.

N. Korea slams multination statement backing anti-Pyongyang sanctions as 'strategic failure'

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Summary

North Korea criticized Saturday a joint statement by the United States, South Korea and other partners backing continued enforcement of sanctions against Pyongyang, calling it a “strategic failure.” The statement, issued earlier this week by 11 countries and the European Union, reaffirmed monitoring of North Korea’s activities under U.N. Security Council sanctions. A North Korean foreign ministry spokesperson said sanctions and pressure would not work or affect the country’s position as a nuclear weapons state.

Key Facts

The joint statement highlighted findings by the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team on North Korea’s illicit activities and welcomed new U.S., Australian and EU sanctions over cyberactivities and the dispatch of workers overseas.
The spokesperson said the United States and Western countries had lost the means and ability to prove sanctions’ effectiveness.
The Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team consists of 11 countries, including South Korea, the United States, Japan, Australia and Canada.
The team was established after Russia vetoed a resolution to extend the mandate of a U.N. expert panel, which was disbanded in April 2024.

By Yonhap

Published Oct 31, 2026 11:18 am KST

Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of North Korea Kim Son Gyong addresses the 81st United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York City, Sept. 28. Reuters-Yonhap

North Korea blasted Saturday a joint statement recently issued by the United States, South Korea and other partner nations calling for continued enforcement of sanctions against Pyongyang's nuclear and weapons programs, branding the move as a "strategic failure."

A spokesperson from the North's foreign ministry issued the criticism in a statement, after 11 countries and the European Union (EU) released the joint statement earlier this week reaffirming their commitment to monitoring the North's activities in violation of U.N. Security Council (UNSC) sanctions resolutions.

The joint statement also highlighted the findings of the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team (MSMT) on the North's illicit activities and welcomed fresh independent sanctions imposed by the U.S., Australia and the EU over the North's cyberactivities and dispatch of its workers overseas to finance its nuclear weapons and missile programs.

"This is another case that reminds us that the hostile forces' bad habit of denying the constitutional status of our state," the spokesperson said in the statement carried by the North's Korean Central News Agency.

"The isolated are not us but the U.S. and the Western camp which have lost judgment and courage to admit their strategic failure despite the lack of their means and ability to prove the effectiveness of their sanctions," the official said.

The official went on to stress that "futile" sanctions and pressure will "never work" on North Korea, nor will they affect its position as a nuclear weapons state.

"Time proves that the 'sanctions' on the DPRK are doomed to go bankrupt," the spokesperson said. DPRK is short for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

"(North Korea) vehemently denounces and rejects the U.S. and its vassal forces' ill-intended conspiratorial racket to justify their malicious and depraved hostile policy toward the DPRK under unjust and unreasonable pretexts," the spokesperson said.

The MSMT was established after a U.N. expert panel, tasked with monitoring sanctions enforcement, was disbanded in April 2024 due to Russia's veto of a resolution to extend its mandate. It consists of 11 countries, including South Korea, the United States, Japan, Australia and Canada.

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