In this rapid reaction to
U.N. sanctions, the young government of Kim Jong Un underscores what
Security Council members have long known anticipated from the DPRK.
Their end-game is to create a vibrant, integrated missile and nuclear
weapons program that will result - as in the cases of Pakistan and India
- in their being recognized as a new nuclear nation by fait accompli.
In light of DPRK defiance
- and a soon to occur nuclear test - the Security Council's first set
of sanctions on North Korea since 2009 may seem
absurd and irrelevant.
These sanctions will certainly not prevent a new DPRK nuclear test.
Rather, the new sanctions resolution mobilizes regional neighbors and
global actors to enforce sanctions that can weaken future DPRK programs
and actions.
The utility, if not the
necessity, of these Security Council sanctions are to deteriorate and
disrupt the networks that sustain North Korea's programs. Chances of
this degradation of DPRK capabilities have increased as the new
sanctions both embolden and empower the member states who regularly
observe - but do nothing about - suspicious vessels in their adjacent
waterways.
The resolution provides
new guidance to states regarding ship interdiction, cargo inspections,
and the seizure and disposal of prohibited materials. Regarding nuclear
and missile development the sanctions expand the list of material banned
for trade to DPRK, including high tech, dual-use goods which might aid
missile industries.
These new measures
provide a better structure for more effective sanctions, by naming new
entities, such as a bank and trading companies, as well as individuals
involved in the illicit financing of prohibited materials, to the
sanctions list. To the surprise of many in the diplomatic community -
the Council authorizes states to expose and confiscate North Korea's
rather mobile "bulk cash." Such currency stocks have been used in many
regions to facilitate purchases of luxury goods and other banned items
that sustain the DPRK elites.
Finally, the Security
Council frees the Sanctions Committee to act more independently and in a
timely manner to add entities to the list of sanctioned actors when
evidence shows them to be sanctions violators. This is an extensive
hunting license for states in the region that can multiply the costs of
sanctions to the DPRK over time.
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