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Sanction regime against North Korea practically exhausted, Russian senior diplomat says

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov noted that it was impossible to compel North Korea to anything through sanctions alone

MOSCOW, November 8. /TASS/. The current regime of the anti-North Korean sanctions, one of the most toughest ones in the world, has practically exhausted itself, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov said on Friday.

"I think the sanction regime against North Korea is practically exhausted. I cannot imagine which major sanctions of restrictions could be further imposed on North Korea. As of today, this international [sanction] regime against North Korea, the regime of the United Nations Security Council, is one of the toughest in the world," he said at the 4th Moscow Nonproliferation Conference.

He noted that it was impossible to compel North Korea to anything through sanctions alone. "When the international sanctions, the UN Security Council sanctions, were discussed Russia insisted that these sanctions should not harm North Korea’s population, which has nothing to do with either missile or nuclear programs," he noted.

The Russian diplomat recalled that unlike some of its partners, Russia stood for the phased lifting of the anti-North Korean sanctions depending on "progress in the settlement process, in the process of denuclearization." "We believe that the process of phased lifting of the sanctions should accompany the settlement process and, hence, the United Nations Security Council should tackle the issue of easing the anti-North Korean sanctions regime each time we reach some progress," Morgulov explained.

In 2017, the United Nations Security Council imposed unprecedented tough sanctions against North Korea in response to its nuclear and missile tests. Thus, a ban was imposed on export a range of minerals and products, including coal, iron, lead and sea products, from North Korea. Also in 2017, restrictions were imposed on the activities of North Korea’s Kumsan corporation acting on behalf of the General Bureau of Atomic Energy, Koryo Bank and Foreign Trade Bank executing payments on foreign trade operations, etc.