Russia has blocked the publication of a report by the United Nations on the implementation of sanctions against North Korea because it disagrees with some of the findings, AFP quoted Moscow’s UN Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya as saying that “The report is on hold because we disagree on certain elements and on the conduct of the business itself,.
Nebenzya’s comments came after a UN Security Council meeting that was attended by its 15 members on
August 30. The 62-page report, which the AFP obtained a copy of earlier in August, noted that the North Korean government “had not stopped its nuclear and missile programs and had 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 throughout 2018.”
Nebenzya was also quoted as saying that Russia has also asked for an investigation into leaks to the media of the Council’s reports that concerned matters related to North Korea.
At a meeting in Singapore in June, US President Donald J. Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un signed a broad statement, calling for a firm and unwavering commitment to complete the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula.
In light of the finding that North Korea had already exceeded its legal cap on fuel imports, the United States in July called on the Council to end all further fuel exports to the country for the remainder of the year; a move that was subsequently blocked by Pyongyang’s close allies, Russia and China, the AP and AFP reported.