Russia veto ends UN monitoring of North Korea sanctions after arms transfer probe

Russia faced a mounting backlash Friday after using its veto power to effectively end official UN monitoring of sanctions on North Korea amid a probe into alleged arms transfers between Moscow and Pyongyang.

Russia's UN Security Council veto on Thursday blocked the renewal of the panel of experts tasked with investigating violations of sanctions tied to North Korea's banned nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.

South Korea's foreign ministry on Friday slammed the move as an "irresponsible decision".

Seoul has accused Pyongyang of sending thousands of containers of weapons to Moscow for use in Ukraine, and Russia's move was "almost comparable to destroying a CCTV to avoid being caught red-handed", said Hwang Joon-kook, South Korea's UN ambassador.

The Kremlin defended its veto Friday, saying UN sanctions on North Korea were hindering dialogue and peace on the Korean peninsula and had not aided regional security.

"Over the years, international restrictive measures have not helped to improve the security situation in the region," foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters at a daily briefing that Moscow's position was "more in line with our interests".

The panel's mandate expires at the end of April.

(AFP)

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