North Korean Sanctions Poorly Implemented

The United Nations Panel of Experts (PoE) on North Korea released their report indicating that North Korean sanctions are poorly implemented. In the report, the panel demonstrates that DPRK entities along with entities from other UN member states are actively involved in flouting the sanctions. Notably, the panel released photographs of President Moon riding with Kim Jong Un in an illegally acquired Mercedes Benz limousine despite pressure from the ROK government to suppress those images. Additionally, President Moon appeared alongside Kim Jong Un in a Lexus and Range Rover indicating the complicity of the South Korean government in DPRK sanctions violations.

The report details the largest documented illicit ship-to-ship transfer whereby the DPRK received 57,000 barrels of oil. President Trump has frequently indicated that tough sanctions have driven the North Koreans to the bargaining table. However, the PoE report demonstrates how poorly these sanctions are implemented and raise questions about the Trump Administration’s narrative.

In the aftermath of the PoE report, along with DPRK launch site activity and DPRK threats to withdraw from diplomacy, President Moon’s approval rating has fallen to the lowest level since taking office. The DPRK has indicated they “have no intention to yield to the US demands” and are unwilling to “engage in negotiations of this kind.” These statements reflect poorly on the Trump and Moon Administrations that have invested large amounts of political capital in DPRK negotiations.

Current ROK Climate

In light of the recent developments surrounding the Korean Peninsula, the current climate in the ROK is tense. The US State Department has indicated in its 2018 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices that the Moon Administration has been pressuring defector groups to stop criticizing the DPRK government. Additionally, the ruling Minjoo Party has issued a declaration accusing a Bloomberg reporter of treason.

미국 국적 통신사의 외피를 쓰고 국가원수를 모욕한 매국에 가까운 내용이라 당시에도 적잖은 논란을 불러일으켰다.

On 16 March, the Seoul Foreign Correspondent’s Club issued a statement condemning President Moon’s ruling party for its action.

“It is disturbing for any politician to accuse any journalist of treason — a criminal offence — for reporting on matters of public interest or voicing an opinion. This is a form of censorship and journalistically chilling,”

President Moon’s ruling party is using the same ethno nationalist tactics that the DPRK uses to silence critics. The ruling party statement accuses the Bloomberg reporter of “hiding behind the cloak of a US national communication service” while “betraying her country by insulting its head of state.” These inflammatory remarks using anti-American rhetoric and appeals to common ethnicity to demand obedience are extremely dangerous in the current environment. I’m reminded of the 2002 anti-American sentiment that was rampant across the Korean Peninsula.