US to launch new sanctions regime to monitor North Korea’s nuclear program

The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said on Friday she wanted to find a new way to secure sanctions against North Korea next month after Russia and China blocked the resumption of monitoring activities.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield said Washington and its allies are considering options at the United Nations and beyond to replace an expert panel that has for the past 15 years overseen the implementation of sanctions aimed at curbing North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs. Condition.

Russia last month rejected the panel’s annual update, while China abstained from the vote.

Asked whether the United States and its allies could establish alternatives when the current group’s mandate expires at the end of April, Thomas-Greenfield told reporters in Tokyo: “That would be the best option to start next month. I didn’t know we were going to move forward with it so quickly, but that’s my hope.”

“We are trying to do something in the (United Nations) General Assembly. We are pushing the (United Nations) Secretariat through the secretary-general to do something outside his office, but we are also looking at options outside the United Nations,” she added These may be conducted under the auspices of the Group of Seven, think tanks or research institutions.

Thomas-Greenfield said the United States and its partners, which are pushing for a new surveillance regime, may consider having several teams replace the work of existing groups.

“It might not just be one option. It might look at two or three different options to give us the information we need,” she said.