World News

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SEOUL — A veto by Russia on Thursday ended the United Nations’ monitoring of sanctions against North Korea over its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs, dissolving a U.N. body that for 14 years was responsible for keeping a close eye on Pyongyang’s illicit activities.

This was Russia’s first time vetoing what has previously been a routine annual vote to extend the panel’s mandate, which had signified a unified global opposition to North Korea’s expansion of its nuclear weapons program and violations of international sanctions.

“With this veto, Russia has transitioned from an international spoiler to an outlaw state, when it comes to nuclear nonproliferation and ballistic missile enforcement norms,” Hugh Griffiths, former coordinator of the panel, told The Washington Post.

The panel reports twice a year to the U.N. Security Council about the effectiveness of those sanctions and details developments in North Korea’s illicit activities in cyber and weapons proliferation, oil smuggling and more.

Russia’s U.N. ambassador, Vasily Nebenzya, criticized the panel’s work, saying it is “increasingly being reduced to playing into the hands of Western approaches, reprinting biased information and analyzing newspaper headlines and poor quality photos.”

Griffiths noted that one of the important functions of the panel was providing an independent assessment of the companies and individuals that were violating financial sanctions on North Korea or supporting its proliferation networks.

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