North Korea’s foreign minister, Choe Son Hui, has denounced the newly-formed multilateral sanctions monitoring team, led by the United States, as “utterly unlawful and illegitimate,” according to state media on Sunday.
The United States, South Korea, and Japan announced the creation of this monitoring team last week in response to Russia and China blocking efforts to enforce UN sanctions on North Korea. The team was formed after Russia vetoed the annual renewal of a UN panel tasked with overseeing sanctions aimed at curbing North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs, while China abstained from the vote.
Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have escalated in recent years due to North Korea’s continued development of ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons, which has led to closer military ties between Pyongyang and Moscow. In response, Washington has strengthened security cooperation with South Korea and Japan.
Choe criticized the new sanctions enforcement team as a blatant violation of North Korea’s sovereignty and accused the United States of undermining the international order. She warned that those involved in actions against North Korea would “pay a dear price.”
Reports have surfaced alleging that North Korea has sent 1,500 special forces troops to Russia’s Far East for training, possibly to be deployed in the war in Ukraine. While Russia and North Korea deny any arms transfers, U.S. and South Korean officials have expressed concern over the growing military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow.
At the same time, Chinese President Xi Jinping reaffirmed his commitment to deepening cooperation with North Korea, pledging to contribute to regional and global peace. Xi made the statement in a message to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on China’s national anniversary.
