North Korea’s Foreign Minister, Choe Son Hui, criticised a newly established sanctions monitoring group led by the United States, labelling it “unlawful and illegitimate” and warning that nations involved would face consequences.
The 11-member team was formed earlier this month after Russia vetoed the renewal of a UN panel responsible for overseeing international sanctions on North Korea, which have been imposed due to its prohibited nuclear and weapons programmes. The veto, which took place in March, led South Korea and its allies to seek alternative measures for sanctions monitoring, resulting in the creation of this new group that includes the United States and Japan.
North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency carried Choe’s statement on Sunday, in which he denounced the group’s formation, stating that its existence itself constitutes a denial of the UN Charter.
This criticism follows a report by South Korea’s intelligence agency, which claimed that North Korea had deployed a large-scale contingent of troops to support Russia’s war in Ukraine, with 1,500 special forces reportedly undergoing training in Russia. Seoul also accused Pyongyang of shipping arms to Moscow for use against Ukraine.
Choe’s statement did not address the alleged deployment of troops, though North Korea has previously denied engaging in any sanctions violating arms trade with Russia.