[Chodong Yodam] Ineffective UN Security Council Sanctions on North Korea, Calls for Reform Must Be Amplified

Chinese and Russian Governments with Veto Power
Must Find Breakthrough with Western Countries

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo In-ho] The United Nations Security Council held a total of 10 meetings this year regarding North Korea's ballistic missiles.

North Korea launched ballistic missiles 35 to 38 times this year, averaging about once every 8 to 9 days. Considering this frequency of North Korea's ballistic missile launches, the UN Security Council's meetings condemning North Korea cannot be considered excessive.

However, despite the 10 meetings, there has been almost no progress. The UN Security Council meeting convened on the 21st (local time) due to North Korea's intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test launch provocations also ended without any results.

North Korea has launched ICBMs a total of 8 times this year. According to UN Security Council Resolution 2397, adopted in 2017, sanctions against North Korea should be automatically strengthened when North Korea launches ICBMs.

The resolution even specifies concrete measures to further reduce the annual supply cap of refined petroleum products by 500,000 barrels and crude oil supply cap by 4 million barrels.

However, the UN Security Council has been unable to even discuss such sanctions against North Korea due to the confrontation between the US-led Western countries and China and Russia.

The provision of "automatic strengthening" has also failed to have any effect in the face of the veto power held by permanent members China and Russia.

In this meeting as well, China and Russia repeated their claims that North Korea's ICBM launches are the fault of the United States.

Chinese Ambassador Zhang Jun argued that existing UN sanctions against North Korea should be eased in order to create a favorable environment for North Korea to return to the denuclearization negotiation table. Russian Deputy Ambassador Anna Evstigneva pointed the finger at the United States, mentioning the South Korea-US joint military exercises rather than North Korea.

The United States emphasized that China and Russia, who hold veto power, are obstructing the Security Council.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, US Ambassador to the UN, pointed out, "Two countries with veto power in the Security Council are encouraging North Korean provocations," and stated, "China and Russia's shielding of North Korea constitutes an 'abuse of veto power'." Western Security Council members such as the UK, France, and Ireland also condemned North Korea's ballistic missile launches, calling for restraint from further provocations and a return to dialogue.

The frustrating party is our government. Because the North Korean nuclear and missile issues have not been properly addressed due to the confrontation between Western countries (including the US) and China and Russia in the international community, there is no sign of the cooled situation on the Korean Peninsula improving.

In diplomatic circles, it is believed that this confrontation will be difficult to break easily while the US maintains a strong stance against China, Russia, and North Korea.

The US Department of Defense recently released the National Defense Strategy (NDS), Nuclear Posture Review (NPR), and Missile Defense Review (MDR) simultaneously, designating China as the most likely "strategic competitor" in the future, Russia as an "immediate threat," and North Korea, along with Iran and international terrorist organizations, as other "persistent threats."

Calls for reform of the UN Security Council are growing. In his speech at the UN General Assembly last September, US President Joe Biden expressed support for reforms including adding African and South American countries as Security Council members.

Pope Francis has also consistently called for Security Council reform since the Ukraine crisis. Recently, our country has also urged discussions on limiting the veto power of permanent members.

Our government realistically lacks the ability to change the confrontation structure in the international community. However, it can demand reforms of the UN Security Council, which is being criticized as ineffective. It is time to consider, together with the US and other Western countries, how to pressure China and Russia, who frequently exercise their veto power.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.