UNITED NATIONS, April 3. /TASS/. Pyongyang is grateful that Russia used its veto power in the UN Security Council, blocking the US draft resolution that would have extended the mandate of the Panel of Experts assisting the Sanctions Committee established pursuant to resolution 1718 on the DPRK, North Korea’s UN Ambassador Kim Song told reporters.

"We highly appreciate the Russian Federation's veto," he said. The permanent representative noted that Pyongyang has never recognized either the sanctions imposed by the Security Council on North Korea or the activity of the Sanctions Committee.

Last week, Russia used its veto power in the UN Security Council and blocked a draft resolution submitted by the United States to extend until April 30, 2025 the mandate of an expert panel on North Korea sanctions. Thirteen out of 15 members of the Security Council voted to support the draft resolution, while China abstained.

Commenting on the West's reaction to Russia's vetoing the draft resolution, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Russia takes UN Security Council sanctions seriously, but cannot sit back and watch these measures turn into an indiscriminate instrument for punishing certain states.

The mandate of the expert panel at the UN Security Council Committee 1718 on sanctions against North Korea expires on April 30, 2024.