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Thursday, November 26, 2020, 14:39
UN mulls US proposal to streamline DPRK aid exemptions
By Reuters
Thursday, November 26, 2020, 14:39 By Reuters

In this July 20, 2015 file photo, members of the Security Council vote at the United Nations headquarters on the landmark nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers. (SETH WENIG / AP)

NEW YORK - A United Nations Security Council sanctions committee is considering a US proposal to streamline and lengthen exemptions from UN sanctions on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) for humanitarian aid groups working in the Asian state.

The updates to an implementation assistance note - first issued in August 2018 - will be approved by the council’s 15-member DPRK sanctions committee on Friday if there are no objections, diplomats said. The committee operates by consensus.

The DPRK has been subjected to UN Security Council sanctions since 2006 over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. The council has steadily strengthened sanctions in a bid to cut off funding for those programs

The DPRK has been subjected to UN Security Council sanctions since 2006 over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. The council has steadily strengthened sanctions in a bid to cut off funding for those programs.

ALSO READ: ROK ruling party chief hopes for breakthrough in ties with DPRK

“The US proposal allows humanitarian organizations to fast-track exemption requests for urgent humanitarian assistance, such as aid to respond to pandemics or natural disasters,” said a Security Council diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The diplomat said the measure also lengthens the exemption period and requires the committee to process urgent requests under an expedited timeline.

While the UN sanctions are not intended to harm DPRK civilians, “there can be little doubt, however, they have had negative effects, although this is difficult to disaggregate from other external and internal factors,” UN sanctions monitors reported to the council in August.

The coronavirus pandemic, a border closure with China and recent typhoons have added pressure to a DPRK economy already pummeled by international sanctions.

READ MORE: UN rights official urges easing of DPRK sanctions

An independent UN human rights investigator last month called for sanctions on DPRK to be eased because they may be worsening problems from the coronavirus lockdown. Russia and China had also suggested sanctions be eased for humanitarian purposes, but Western countries have said it was too early.

DPRK top leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump have met three times since 2018, but failed to make progress on US calls for Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons and the DPRK’s demands for an end to sanctions.


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