An international consultative body involving 11 countries including South Korea, the United States, and Japan has reaffirmed its commitment to sanction resolutions aimed at countering threats such as North Korea's weapons of mass destruction.
On October 16 last year, Kim Hong-gyun, First Vice Minister (sixth from the left), is taking a commemorative photo with ambassadors from MSMT participating countries at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs annex of the Government Seoul Office Building. Photo by Yonhap News
On the 19th (local time), the 1st Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team (MSMT) Steering Committee meeting was held in Washington, USA, with government officials from 11 countries including South Korea participating. MSMT was launched last October as a consultative body to replace the UN Security Council (UNSC) North Korea Sanctions Committee expert panel, which was disbanded in April last year due to Russia's veto. The steering committee operates to investigate North Korea's sanctions violations or evasion attempts, publish reports, and thereby support the faithful implementation of UN Security Council sanctions resolutions against North Korea.
After the first steering committee meeting, the participating countries stated in a joint press release, "MSMT member countries stand united with firm resolve to maintain international peace and security, uphold the international non-proliferation regime, and address threats arising from North Korea's weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs," adding, "The MSMT Steering Committee emphasizes the joint determination of participating countries to faithfully implement the UN Security Council sanctions resolutions against North Korea."
They further added, "We reaffirm that the door to dialogue remains open and urge all countries to join international efforts to maintain international peace and security by confronting the ongoing threats from North Korea and those who facilitate North Korea's violations of UNSC sanctions resolutions."
The MSMT participating countries are South Korea, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Notably, the first steering committee meeting was held in Washington following the inauguration of the second Trump administration, marking a significant point. This indicates that the international community, including the new US administration, has reached a consensus on the need to continue strengthening sanctions against North Korea. However, Russia and China, who have supported North Korea, were absent.
The MSMT's first report is expected to be published around March to April under the leadership of the South Korean government. South Korea, having initially proposed the establishment of MSMT, is leading the early operations and report preparation. The report is expected to include North Korea's UNSC sanctions violations with high security implications. This first report publication is anticipated to confirm South Korea government's expertise and leading role in North Korea policy among allied countries including the United States.
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