US, Allies Launch North Korea Sanctions Monitoring Mechanism
The U.S. and 10 other countries are creating a new Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team to report on North Korea sanctions violations and evasion after Russia earlier this year vetoed a U.N. Security Council proposal that would have extended the “panel of experts” that had been monitoring U.N. sanctions against North Korea.
The new group, announced Oct. 16, will “assist the full implementation of UN sanctions on [North Korea] by publishing information based on rigorous inquiry into sanctions violations and evasion attempts,” the countries said in a joint statement. They said they will “fully implement” all U.N. sanctions against the country, “reaffirm that the path to dialogue remains open, and call on all states to join global efforts to maintain international peace and security in the face of the ongoing threats from” North Korea.
Along with the U.S., the statement was released by Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, South Korea and the U.K.