South Korea, the United States, Japan and eight other countries on Wednesday unveiled a new mechanism to monitor North Korea’s flouting of sanctions and strengthen sanctions enforcement, filling the void left by the UN Panel of Experts, which was dissolved following Russia’s veto of its renewal.
South Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun, US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Masataka Okano, joined by ambassadors and diplomatic representatives from eight countries, gathered in Seoul to announce the establishment of the “Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team,” according to the South Korean Foreign Ministry. 
The eight countries — Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand and the United Kingdom — bring the total to 11 nations spearheading the MSMT initiative.
The independent coalition of countries will operate notably outside the UN framework and aim to strengthen global cooperation, remaining open to broader participation, including from countries in the Global South, according to the Foreign Ministry.
“In light of the veto which disbanded the UN Security Council’s 1718 Committee Panel of Experts this year, we hereby express our intention to establish the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team (MSMT), a multilateral mechanism to monitor and report violations and evasions of the sanction measures stipulated in the relevant UNSCRs,” read an English-language joint statement issued at the event.
“The goal of the new mechanism is to assist the full implementation of UN sanctions on the DPRK by publishing information based on a rigorous inquiry into sanctions violations and evasion attempts,” the statement added, referring to North Korea by the acronym of its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
A senior Foreign Ministry official confirmed on condition of anonymity that the launch was deliberately timed to coincide with the trilateral vice foreign ministers’ meeting among South Korea, the US and Japan in Seoul, held immediately after the event — a clear indication that the MSMT’s key initiative is led by the three countries.
The MSMT was established around seven months after Russia, using its veto as a permanent member of the UN Security Council in late March, blocked the renewal of the 1718 Committee Panel of Experts’ mandate. Since 2009, the PoE has been tasked with overseeing the enforcement of UN Security Council resolutions on North Korea and issuing biannual reports on sanctions violations.
In a separate statement, South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said “The MSMT is expected to fill the gap in the international community’s monitoring system for the enforcement of UN Security Council sanctions on North Korea and further strengthen it.”
The unnamed Foreign Ministry official also explained that the urgency of swiftly addressing gaps in monitoring sanctions enforcement, driven by North Korea’s ongoing violations — including the development of illicit missile and nuclear programs, arms transactions with Russia, cyber theft and illicit ship-to-ship transfers — was the primary reason for establishing the alternative mechanism outside the UN framework.
“The urgent need to quickly address the gap in the monitoring system for sanctions violations was widely recognized by many countries, leading to the idea of establishing an alternative mechanism outside the UN framework. This effort culminated in the launch of the MSMT,” the official said.
When asked whether any consultations had taken place with China and Russia — two out of five UN Security Council permanent members — in the process, the official said: “The MSMT is the product of discussions among countries that have made clear commitments to enforcing UN Security Council sanctions on North Korea and demonstrated a willingness to contribute to the effort.”
South Korea’s Foreign Ministry highlighted in its statement that a key advantage of the MSMT lies in its ability to “overcome the limitations of the previous panel’s reports in that it is free from the dynamics stemming from conflicts among Security Council members and is not bound by fixed reporting cycles.”
The MSMT will take over the core functions of the former UN Panel of Experts, with the Foreign Ministry stating that participating countries are also considering the release of regular reports on North Korea’s sanctions-evasion activities, along with ad-hoc, detailed reports on specific issues or sectors.
Reports issued by the MSMT will be made publicly available and circulated within the UN Security Council, with efforts underway to facilitate public briefings before the Council, according to the ministry.
