The United States, South Korea and Japan on Wednesday announced the launch of a new multinational team to monitor the enforcement of sanctions against North Korea after Russia and China thwarted monitoring activities at the United Nations.
The mechanism, named the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team, has been introduced after Russia in March rejected the annual renewal of a U.N. panel of experts that had over the past 15 years overseen the implementation of sanctions aimed at curbing North Korea's nuclear and missile programs. China abstained from the vote.
The team is meant to continue the U.N. panel's work, including issuing regular reports on sanctions enforcement, and will involve the participation of eight other countries including Britain, France and Germany, a South Korean official said.
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