Kim Jong-un’s new BFF has done him a solid by blocking UN enforcement of sanctions against North Korea:
A veto Thursday by Russia ended monitoring of U.N. sanctions against North Korea over its nuclear program, prompting Western accusations that Moscow is seeking to avoid scrutiny as it allegedly violates the sanctions to buy weapons from Pyongyang for its war in Ukraine.
Russia’s turnaround on the U.N. monitoring reflects how Moscow’s growing animosity with the U.S. and its Western allies since the start of the Ukraine war has made it difficult to reach consensus on even issues where there has been longstanding agreement.
The veto came during a vote on a U.N. Security Council resolution that would have extended the mandate of a panel of experts monitoring sanctions on North Korea for a year, but which will now halt its operation when its current mandate expires at the end of April.
Stars & Stripes
You can read more at the link.
I doubt North Korea cares at all about this Joint statment because they know no one is actually going to take any real measures to stop their ballistic missile and nuclear programs:
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (L) and South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik (R) attend the inaugural defense ministerial meeting of South Korea and the United Nations Command member states at Seoul’s defense ministry on Nov. 14, 2023. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)
South Korea and the United Nations Command (UNC) member states adopted a joint statement Tuesday condemning North Korea’s “unlawful” nuclear and missile program and vowed a united response in the case of Pyongyang’s aggression.
South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik and his U.S. counterpart, Lloyd Austin, as well as senior defense officials and representatives from 16 other UNC member states, gathered for their first meeting at the defense ministry to evaluate its role and explore ways to deepen their security cooperation.
Yonhap
You can read more at the link.
This is a big win for President Yoon to secure this seat on the U.N. Security Council at a time of increasing tensions with North Korea:
South Korea was elected Tuesday as a nonpermanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for a two-year term, expanding its foothold in the U.N. body to better address the North Korean issue and other global security challenges.
As the only candidate nation in Asia, Seoul was chosen in a vote at the U.N. General Assembly in New York, returning to the UNSC in 11 years after last sitting on the council in 2013-14.
South Korea won the seat after garnering 180 votes among 192 member states during the assembly.
This marks the third time for South Korea to serve as one of the 10 nonpermanent UNSC members. It previously served in the seat during the 1996-97 term.
Yonhap
You can read more at the link.
It looks like someone was trying to be too clever on Facebook:
The U.N. Command is reviewing its social media policies after a short, sexually suggestive post was published recently on the organization’s official Facebook page.
The post — “Make love to me …” — appeared around midnight March 24. By mid-morning the message had disappeared.
The post “was made unrelated to the mission and goals of our command,” Army Col. Isaac Taylor, who also serves as spokesman for U.S. Forces Korea, said in a statement emailed to Stars and Stripes on Wednesday.
“We are reviewing and updating our current practices and security protocols to ensure it does not happen again,” he wrote.
Taylor’s email did not answer questions about who was responsible for the post and whether any disciplinary actions were taken. Speaking by phone Monday, he said the investigation into the incident is ongoing.
The U.N. Command’s Facebook account has around 13,000 followers and posts news and information about its activities and history. (…..)
The message was posted on Facebook as U.S. and South Korean troops carried out the large-scale Ssangyong maritime exercise in South Korea between March 20 and April 3. The allies also conducted large, joint training that included live-fire artillery drills and tabletop simulations throughout March.
Stars & Stripes
You can read more at the link.
