Russia stops release of UN North Korea report

August 31, 2018

Deutsche Welles:

Russia blocked a UN report on Thursday that details North Korean violations of UN-imposed sanctions on its nuclear and missile programs. The document was held up by Moscow “because we disagree on certain elements of the report,” according to UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia.

The text, which was seen by media organizations like French news agency AFP ahead of time, found that Pyongyang “has not stopped its nuclear and missile programs and continued to defy Security Council resolutions through a massive increase in illicit ship-to-ship transfers of petroleum products, as well as through transfers of coal at sea during 2018.”

North Korea also reportedly tried to sell small arms to Syrian weapons traffickers, as well as rebels in the war-torn nations of Yemen, Libya, and Sudan.

A diplomatic source told AFP that Russia’s objections were due to an element in the report that claimed North Korea exceeded its 2018 import cap for oil.

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Curtis Stiles - Chief of Staff