SEOUL: North Korea’s Foreign Minister has denounced a newly formed multilateral sanctions monitoring team led by the United States, labeling it as “unlawful and illegitimate,” and warned that countries participating in the initiative would “pay a dear price,” according to state media reports released on Sunday.
According to Yonhap News Agency, North Korean Foreign Minister Choi Sun-hui issued a statement condemning the sanctions regime, following the announcement by South Korea, the United States, and Japan of the launch of the monitoring mechanism. This initiative, which includes eight other countries, came into existence after Russia vetoed an extension of a United Nations panel’s mandate in April. The participating countries in the new monitoring team are France, Britain, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
Choi’s statement, carried in English by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), described the monitoring team as “unlawful and illegitimate,” claiming it represents “a
denial of the U.N. Charter.” She further warned that those involved in what she termed a “smear campaign against the DPRK” would face significant repercussions, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
The North Korean diplomat also criticized the United States for allegedly pursuing “hegemonic interests” and cautioned that there would be “inevitable reactions” to what she characterized as a violation of North Korea’s sovereignty. The role of the new monitoring team is to oversee and report violations of U.N. sanctions aimed at curtailing Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile program advancements.
North Korea has been previously accused of circumventing these sanctions using methods such as ship-to-ship transfers, with allegations of assistance from countries including China and Russia.