New multinational body launched to monitor North Korea sanctions after UN panel dismantled

The Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team (MSMT) — which includes South Korea, the United States, Japan, Britain, France, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, the Netherlands, Canada and Germany — will assume the previous panel's role.

South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun, center, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, fifth from left, and Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Masataka Okano, seventh from left, along with eight other ambassadors to Korea attend the announcement on a new intergovernmental body on monitoring North Korea sanctions at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in central Seoul on Wednesday. [KIM KYEONG-ROK]

A group of 11 countries officially launched a new intergovernmental body to monitor the enforcement of Pyongyang-related sanctions in Seoul on Wednesday, following the dismantlement of the UN Panel of Experts on North Korea in April due to Russia's veto.

The Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team (MSMT) — which includes South Korea, the United States, Japan, Britain, France, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, the Netherlands, Canada and Germany — will assume the previous panel's role.

South Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Masataka Okano, along with ambassadors to South Korea from eight other participating countries, gathered at the Foreign Ministry in central Seoul to announce the official launch of the MSMT.

"We … are aligned in our commitment to uphold international peace and security and to safeguard the global non-proliferation regime and address the threat arising from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs, which are in violation of UN Security Council resolutions," the member states said in a joint statement, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

"The goal of the new mechanism is to assist the full implementation of UN sanctions on the DPRK by publishing information based on rigorous inquiry into sanctions violations and evasions attempts," the statement added.

Unlike the previous UN panel, composed of independent experts appointed by the UN Secretary-General, the MSMT operates as a "coalition of countries that have voluntarily decided to work together," the South Korean Foreign Ministry explained.

The MSMT is expected to publish reports more frequently than the former panel, which issued reports only twice a year. Additionally, it plans to release detailed briefs on specific issues or areas of concern, according to the ministry.

South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun, center, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, left, and Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Masataka Okano announce the new intergovernmental body on monitoring North Korea sanctions at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in central Seoul on Wednesday. [KIM KYEONG-ROK]

Initially, South Korea, the United States and Japan considered establishing the new monitoring team under the UN General Assembly, which would have conferred greater authority. However, concerns over the lengthy process of setting up such a mechanism — amid North Korea's continued nuclear and missile provocations, illegal arms deals with Russia, illegal ship-to-ship maritime transfers and cyberactivities — and the potential requirement for annual resolutions to extend its mandate led to the decision to create an external body for the sake of efficiency.

“Amid these ongoing violations, it became clear that there was no time to delay in filling the monitoring gap,” a Foreign Ministry official said on condition of anonymity. “South Korea and other key countries agreed on the need to swiftly establish an alternative mechanism outside the UN.

"The MSMT could address the limitations faced by previous UN sanctions panels as it is not bound by the power dynamics within the UNSC or the fixed reporting schedules of past mechanisms, which allows it to operate more freely and effectively than before," the official added.

During the launch ceremony, Kim indicated that integrating the MSMT into a UN framework remains a possibility.

"We have been considering systems within the UN framework and will continue to do so moving forward," he said. "As for the MSMT, we are ensuring that this mechanism is open to the participation of other willing states, which will allow us to collect more intelligence and information from many countries. I believe this will create a monitoring system that may be even more effective than the previous one."

Some experts worry that China and Russia's absence from the MSMT could diminish its influence compared to the previous panel. Questions have also been raised over the legitimacy and objectivity of the new mechanism outside the UNSC framework. Sources with knowledge of the matter said that there were no consultations with China and Russia during the formation of the new monitoring team.

Campbell echoed these sentiments, adding that while Russia and China had previously supported the Security Council resolutions establishing the former monitoring regime, the most active contributors to oversight and reporting were from outside that group.

"This coalition of nations, united by a common purpose, has the potential to surpass the previous panel’s work, which was sometimes hindered by historical challenges, particularly from Russia," Campbell said.

In March, Russia used its veto power in the UN Security Council to block the renewal of the UN DPRK Panel of Experts’ mandate, effectively ending the mechanism that had monitored North Korea’s sanctions violations for 15 years. The panel had played a key role in reporting to the UN Security Council 1718 Committee, which oversees sanctions enforcement on North Korea. South Korean Ambassador to the UN Hwang Joon-kook criticized the veto, saying it is "almost comparable to destroying a CCTV to avoid being caught red-handed."

South Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun, center, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Masataka Okano hold the 14th vice-ministerial meeting in central Seoul on Wednesday. [KIM KYEONG-ROK]

Following the launch of the MSMT, the three vice foreign ministers held their 14th regular vice-ministerial meeting at the Foreign Ministry headquarters, where they agreed to push a meeting of their national leaders within the year. However, neither the structure nor the exact date of such a meeting has been finalized, Kim said.

Amid heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula triggered by Pyongyang's destruction of inter-Korean roads the previous day, the three also reaffirmed the goal of the complete denuclearization of North Korea.

The trilateral vice foreign minister talks come about five months after the last ones held in Washington.

UPDATE Oct. 16 : More quotes and info about the 14th vice-ministerial meeting added.

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]