The expert said: It is unlikely that the United Nations will lift sanctions on North Korea

The United Nations imposed trade sanctions after North Korea’s first nuclear test in 2006. Despite this, North Korea continued to conduct regular testing of robots.

In recent weeks, the closed dictatorship has conducted at least five tests of robots.

At the same time, Russia and China want the United Nations to lift trade sanctions against North Korea. Seems from a single draft The resolution that Russia and China are preparing for the UN Security Council.

Russia and China are North Korea’s only true friends, says Benjamin Katzif Silberstein, associate scholar at the Foreign Policy Institute.

“frustration”

Russia and China also want to start a dialogue between the United States and North Korea on nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula.

It’s about frustration that nothing has happened in the relationship between North Korea and the United States. Both Russia and China want the United States to come close to easing sanctions and negotiating with North Korea, according to Katzif Silberstein.

Russia and China also want to lift the ban on North Koreans working abroad and sending their salaries home.

They want to make sure that this workforce can keep coming.

What is the probability that the UN Security Council will make this decision?

– It’s as close as possible to zero. The US has a veto in the Security Council and the US position is very clear – they want to see concrete documents from North Korea so they can start dismantling their nuclear weapons program.

Western diplomats were sent home

Sweden recalled its diplomats from the embassy in Pyongyang in August last year. This came after the country imposed strict COVID-19 restrictions. The country was described as “close more or less”.

When will the diplomats return?

The regime is very concerned about what a possible outbreak of covid-19 could mean. You don’t have the resources to deal with it. I wouldn’t be surprised if it didn’t take a year, or maybe more.

Since foreigners have left Pyongyang, transparency is minimal. However, some information about the humanitarian situation is leaking out.

What we know from various sources inside North Korea is that the situation is difficult, but not catastrophic.

famine?

North Korea has been starving since the 1990s. It is rather a question of how strong the need is. It is quite clear that the situation has worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic and partly because of the sanctions.