US urges full implementation of North Korea sanctions by all UN members
In this 2017 March file photo, a North Korea flag flutters next to concertina wire at the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Reuters-Yonhap |
The U.S. State Department on Tuesday called on all members of the United Nations to faithfully implement U.N. sanctions on North Korea.
The call came after a panel of experts on U.N. Security Council resolutions on North Korea noted some member states continue to allow sanctions evasion activities by the North.
"We note that the PRC and Russia figure prominently in the report as two Member States who continue to condone sanctions evasion activities by the DPRK and other actors," a department spokesperson told Yonhap News Agency in an email when asked to comment on a report by the U.N. panel of experts.
The semestrial report, dated Sept. 8 and released Monday, did not specify countries that failed to implement U.N. Security Council sanctions.
"We reiterate the need for all Security Council members to take these violations seriously and to work together to peacefully resolve this challenge," the official added.
The department official also highlighted the North's continued efforts to advance its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, as pointed out in the U.N. report.
"We remain concerned by the DPRK's repeated violations of multiple UN Security Council Resolutions. As we've said these violations create greater prospects for instability and insecurity in the region," the spokesperson said, using the acronym of North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
North Korea staged a series of missile tests last month, also claiming its latest test launches in late September involved a new hypersonic glide vehicle and a new anti-aircraft missile.
The United States condemned both launches as "violations of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions" that prohibit North Korea from developing or testing any ballistic missiles and other weapons of mass destruction.
"The DPRK's actions, as detailed in the report, threaten the peace, stability, and security of the Korean Peninsula and the broader region," the department spokesperson said.
"These efforts also have serious ramifications for the North Korean people, who are forced to suffer as the regime diverts badly needed resources to its unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs."
The official reaffirmed the U.S.' commitment to denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula.
"All UN Member States must do more to fully implement UN Security Council resolutions addressing the DPRK," the spokesperson said. "Our goal remains the complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and we will continue to coordinate closely with our allies and partners to that end, including at the U.N." (Yonhap)