Calling an urgent meeting of the U.N. Security Council to discuss North Korean violations of U.N. sanctions, Amb. Nikki Haley cited an Associated Press report detailing numerous violations over the first six months of 2018. While hope sprang eternal when 72-tear-old President Donald Trump met with 34-year-old North Korean Dictator Kim Jong-un June 12 in Singapore, Malaysia, North Korea hasn’t delivered on the promise to disarm its nukes and ballistic missiles. Trump has been under growing pressure to deliver on the promise of denuclearization, despite ongoing violations of U.N. sanctions by North Korea. White House officials accuse Russia of aiding-and-abetting North Korea to deliver coal and petroleum products to unmarked ships heading to the hermit nation. Haley called on the U.N Security Council to address North Korea’s violations of strict U.N. sanctions.
Haley cited examples of North Korea receiving coal and petroleum products from unmarked vessels heading to North Korean ports. Haley observed “a massive increase in illicit ship-to-ship transfers of petroleum products,” drawing attention to the U.N. Security Council of North Korean violations. Haley said some of the coal and petroleum transfers came from Russian ships, no surprise when you consider the U.S. adversarial relationship with Moscow. Moscow finds itself closely identified with Pyongyang, also dealing with U.S. and U.N. sanctions for meddling in the 2016 presidential election. White House officials are especially concerned about North Korea’s continued development of nukes and ballistic missiles. Kim promised at the end of the June 12 summit to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, something subject to considerable interpretation by Pyongyang and Washington.
Kim claims he wanted the U.S. to work on a peace treaty officially ending the Korean War more seriously. Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have insisted that before any peace treaty the U.S. needs to see verifiable nuclear disarmament. White House officials are trying to figure out the next step to get Kim to take seriously steps toward nuclear disarmament. Under strict U.N. sanctions, North Korea’s limited to 5000,000 barrels of gasoline, something Haley said it’s been skirting with Russian help since the summit with Trumps ended in June. Haley presented to the Security Counsel 89 instances from Jan. 1 to May 30 of North Korea skirting U.N. sanctions. White House officials finds themselves caught between a rock-and-hard-place trying stop international smuggling into North Korea, while, at the same time, forcing compliance with restrictive U.N. sanctions.
Russia doesn’t trust the U.S. intel citing North Korea’s numerous violations of U.N. sanctions. Russia’s official TASS news agency said more sanctions were “unjustified” based on the report. With Russian sympathetic to North Korea, it’s doubtful the U.S. could make headway on a new resolution admonishing Pyongyang from skirting sanctions. Russian U.S. Amb. Vassily Nebenzia said Moscow doesn’t see any justification for more sanctions. Haley can jump up and down all she wants but unless Russia and China buy in, nothing’s going to happen. It doesn’t help U.S. leverage against North Korea that the U.S. actively engages China in a trade war, leaving a bitter taste with Chinese officials, now unwilling to apply more pressure on Kim to comply with the latest U.N. sanctions. Pompeo thinks North Korea’s illicit activities have been a source of revenue for the impoverished communist state.
If Trump wants more cooperation with North Korea, Russia and China, he needs to pivot on the diplomacy front to work on a long-term peace deal. Only through a peace deal can North Korea be reassured that denuclearization won’t cause regime instability, something feared by Kim’s ruling party. More tough talk from the White House won’t build on the diplomatic process that started with the June 12 Singapore Summit. Kim made clear that he wanted the U.S. to work with North Korea on confidence-building steps before the disarmament process could begin in earnest. Neither China nor Russia see more sanctions as furthering the disarmament process, only sparking more tensions between the U.S. and North Korea. Whether or not Russia continues to help Kim skirt U.N. sanctions, the U.S. should stay focused on a peace treaty, not on seeking more U.N. sanctions.
Since the Iraq War, the U.S. has compromised intelligence, drawing skepticism from especially Russia and China. Expecting Russia and China to accept 89 violations of U.N. sanctions, neither country puts to much stock in Amb. Haley’s concerns. Haley expressed “disappointment” of the Security Council “for caving to Russian pressure and making changes to what would have been an independent report,” further antagonizing Russia and China. If Haley wants to bring Russia and China on board, she needs to refrain from the finger-pointing and ask the Council if there’s anything that can be done to bring North Korean into compliance. Pompeo’s team needs to keep working on a peace treaty to mitigate dangers from a nuclear-armed and missile-ready North Korea. Whatever nuclear threat still exists with North Korea, it would be greatly contained by a workable peace treaty.
