Seoul, Tokyo Unveil Sanctions Over Alleged Russia-NKorea Arms Trade

Improve the News Foundation -

Facts

  • Japan and South Korea announced on Friday new sanctions relating to allegations that Russia has procured weapons from North Korea in violation of UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions.1
  • In cooperation with the US, Tokyo has targeted 11 entities and one individual for their alleged involvement in military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang.2
  • Meanwhile, Seoul has imposed unilateral sanctions on two Russian vessels that are said to have transported military supplies between North Korea and Russia and on seven North Korean individuals.3
  • People targeted by South Korea include Rim Yong Hyok, the head of the Syrian unit of a major arms dealer in North Korea, who is suspected of having negotiated weapons deals with Russia's Wagner Group.4
  • These designations come as the Japanese and South Korean leaders are expected to discuss escalating regional cooperation against military activities by North Korea in a bilateral summit on Sunday.5
  • While Pyongyang denied that any weapons trade with Russia is taking place last week, Moscow last month vetoed a UNSC resolution to renew a panel of experts to monitor international sanctions on North Korea.6

Sources: 1reuters.com, 2rfa.org, 3Koreajoongangdaily, 4Yonhap News Agency, 5NK News and 6Al Jazeera.

Narratives

  • Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by sputnikglobe.com. The Western sanctions regime against the DPRK is inhumane and impotent, and is doomed to fail in light of the world turning its back on them. It's the US and their East Asian allies, not Pyongyang, that are the aggressors in the region as they continue to push and isolate a sovereign country. Russia and North Korea are free to trade as they wish without the approval of third countries.
  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Financial Times. It's no surprise that Russia is collaborating with the totalitarian Kim regime to continue its war of aggression against Ukraine. These arms deals have been a windfall for the North Koreans and sanction-laden Russia, with this unholy alliance making the world a much less safe place. The world ignores this new Putin-Kim axis at its own peril, as the Russian war machine and the North Korean nuclear program accelerate.

Predictions