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NKOREA-NUCLEAR-UN-SANCTIONS-REPORT-RUSSIA
Russia blocks publication of UN report critical of N. Korea
UNITED NATIONS, United States, Aug 31, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Russia has blocked
the publication of a UN report on the implementation of sanctions against
North Korea because it disagrees with some of the findings, Moscow’s
ambassador to the world body said Thursday.
The report had previously been seen by media organizations including AFP
before formal publication.
“The report is on hold because we disagree on certain elements of the
report and on the conduct of the business itself,” Vassily Nebenzia told
reporters after the UN Security Council meeting attended by its 15 members.
A diplomatic source speaking on condition of anonymity said Russia’s
objection stemmed mainly from a part of the report that said North Korea had
exceeded its 2018 import cap for oil that was set by the 2017 sanctions.
The US in July demanded without success an end to all oil exports, citing
satellite photos and expert reports to claim illegal ship-to-ship transfers
had allowed Pyongyang to evade the sanctions.
The 62-page report, which AFP obtained a copy of earlier this month, also
listed violations of a ban on North Korean exports of coal, iron, seafood and
other products that generate millions of dollars in revenue for Kim Jong Un’s
regime.
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,” it added.
At a historic June summit with US President Donald Trump, North Korean
leader Kim Jong Un signed up to a vague commitment of “denuclearization of
the Korean Peninsula” in the hope of getting UN and US sanctions relief.
Trump, however, has repeatedly warned Pyongyang that the sanctions must
remain in place and could even be tightened as long as there is no progress
on ending its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
BSS/AFP/MRI/0826 hrs