S. Korea making diplomatic efforts for extension of U.N. expert panel on N. Korea sanctions

By Kim Seung-yeon

SEOUL, March 26 (Yonhap) -- South Korea is making diplomatic efforts to extend the mandate of a U.N. expert panel on the monitoring of the implementation of sanctions on North Korea, a foreign ministry official said Tuesday, amid reports of prospects of a possible veto by Russia.

The 15-member U.N. Security Council (UNSC) was to vote last Friday on a resolution calling for continuing the Panel of Experts on North Korea sanctions for another year until April 30, 2025, but the vote was postponed for further consultations, according to a Reuters report.

The postponement came after NK News, an online news outlet specializing in North Korea, reported last week the possibility of the dissolution of the expert panel because Russia is likely to cast a veto as one of the five permanent UNSC members that include Britain, China, France and the United States.

"We are making diplomatic efforts for the extension of the expert panel under the North Korea Sanctions Committee that has played an important role in the UNSC's regime on North Korea," a foreign ministry official told reporters.

South Korea is serving on the UNSC as one of the 10 elected members for a two-year term until 2025. The nonpermanent members can participate in the consultation process if the agenda is of the country's concern.

The official said the voting date has not been decided yet.

The eight-member expert panel on North Korea sanctions was established in 2009 to monitor the enforcement of sanctions on the reclusive regime by the U.N. member states.

The panel gathers, examines, analyzes the implementation of the sanctions against the North and submits a report twice a year to the UNSC on its findings and recommendation.

NK News reported that Russia and China have proposed adding "sunset" clauses to parts of the sanctions regime on North Korea as a precondition for the panel extension. Russia has also reportedly suggested reducing the panel's report submission from twice to once a year.

The UNSC has voted on the panel's extension every year. Russia voted in favor of the extension last year.

North Korea is banned from using any nuclear and ballistic missile technologies under multiple UNSC sanctions imposed over its development of weapons of mass destruction.

elly@yna.co.kr
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