Voices for 'Sanctions Relief' on North Korea Emerge at the UN... but US Moves Are Not Easy

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] As the United States demands UN member states to enforce sanctions against North Korea, voices calling for easing the sanctions have emerged within the UN. The reason is that maintaining sanctions amid the COVID-19 situation could drive North Korean residents into starvation. This has placed a political burden on the US, but experts predict that easing sanctions on North Korea will not be easy.

On the 7th (local time), Ned Price, spokesperson for the US State Department, stated during a briefing regarding Thomas Ojea Quintana, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in North Korea, mentioning the easing of UN sanctions for North Korean residents, that "he referred to UN sanctions, not US sanctions."

Earlier, Rapporteur Quintana suggested in a report submitted to the UN General Assembly in New York that due to border closures caused by COVID-19, North Korean residents face the risk of starvation, indicating the need to review or ease UN Security Council sanctions.

However, the US maintained a firm stance on North Korea. Spokesperson Price emphasized, "It is important to stress that the North Korean regime itself bears primary responsibility for the humanitarian situation in North Korea," pointing out that "North Korea continues to exploit its own people, violate human rights, and divert resources to develop illegal weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and ballistic missile programs."

At the same time, he expressed support for international efforts to provide humanitarian aid to North Korea, showing agreement on the necessity of 'humanitarian assistance to North Korea.' This appears to indicate a position to separate the North Korean regime from its people, maintaining sanctions at the regime level while allowing humanitarian aid to the North Korean residents.

Experts analyze that the US stance on sanctions against North Korea is unlikely to change going forward, but the recent UN announcement has imposed a political burden on the US. Hong Min, a research fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification, said, "There is deep distrust of North Korea within the US State Department and Washington political circles, and strong demands for preemptive denuclearization actions, so it is difficult for the US, which has strong confidence in sanctions against North Korea, to change its position. However, the fact that the need for easing sanctions was raised within the UN, not just think tanks, could act as a burden on the US."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.