EXPLAINER: What can the UN do if North Korea sends troops to Ukraine?

This picture taken on March 7, 2024 and released from North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) via KNS on March 8, 2024 shows troops during a joint forces artillery training exercise at an undisclosed location in North Korea. Agence France-Presse

UNITED NATIONS — The United States, South Korea, Britain and Ukraine say North Korea has sent troops to Russia for possible deployment in Ukraine, a move that the White House said on Wednesday is in violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions.

The Kremlin, which has been waging war in Ukraine since February 2022, and North Korea have denied that North Korean soldiers are in Russia.

What can the U.N. Security Council do if its sanctions on North Korea are being violated?

What happens if there is a violation?

North Korea has been under U.N. Security Council sanctions since 2006 and the measures have been steadily strengthened over the years with the aim of halting Pyongyang’s development of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.

READ: Ukraine publishes video ‘showing’ North Korean soldiers in Russia

The Security Council has a North Korea sanctions committee – made up of the 15 council members, including Russia – to “examine and take appropriate action on information regarding alleged violations.” It operates by consensus and can designate individuals and entities.

A Security Council member could also propose action through the adoption of a resolution, but that would require at least nine votes in favor and no vetoes by Russia, China, the United States, France or Britain.

What are some of the UN sanctions imposed on North Korea?

Under U.N. Security Council sanctions, countries are banned from “engaging in the hosting of trainers, advisors, or other officials for the purpose of military-, paramilitary- or police-related training.”

North Korea is also subject to an arms embargo.

How are UN sanctions monitored?

A panel of independent experts – appointed by the U.N. secretary-general – monitored U.N. sanctions on North Korea for 15 years, reporting twice a year to the Security Council and recommending action to improve implementation of the measures.

READ: N. Korea sending troops to Ukraine would be ‘dangerous’ dev’t – US

The reports named individuals, entities and countries the experts were investigating or believed had violated sanctions.

While U.N. sanctions on North Korea are imposed indefinitely, the mandate of the panel experts was renewed annually by the council. Last March, Russia vetoed that renewal – China abstained – and the experts stopped monitoring the enforcement of U.N. sanctions on North Korea on April 30.

Earlier this month, the United States, South Korea and Japan launched a new multinational team to monitor the enforcement of sanctions against North Korea, a move that Pyongyang said was “utterly unlawful and illegitimate.”

Are Russia and China pushing to ease sanctions?

New U.N. sanctions against North Korea, already one of the most heavily sanctioned countries, are highly unlikely.

The last time the 15-member council imposed new sanctions on North Korea was in December 2017. Two years later, China and Russia put forward a draft resolution that would ease sanctions in a bid to encourage talks between Washington and Pyongyang.

However, they did not put the draft resolution to a vote because diplomats said it had little support.

In November 2021, China and Russia revived their push to remove sanctions on key North Korean industries “with the intent of enhancing the livelihood of the civilian population” in the isolated Asian state. The draft text has not been put to a vote.

The United States then proposed strengthening U.N. sanctions on North Korea over its renewed ballistic missile launches. But China and Russia vetoed the U.S.-drafted resolution in May 2022, while the remaining 13 council members all voted in favor.