Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with counterparts in the UN concerning action against the evasion of sanctions against North Korean coal.

Sanctions play an important role in restricting North Korea's (DPRK) nuclear proliferation and destabilising activities and the United Nations (UN) is a vital forum for ensuring UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) accountability.

On 30 April, the UK supported a UN Security Council open briefing on non-proliferation, to discuss the DPRK's continued UNSCR violation, including through illicit coal and iron ore exports. Subsequently, on 29 May the UK together with G7+ partners issued a Joint Statement on DPRK Sanctions Accountability, highlighting ongoing maritime sanctions evasion and calling for the 1718 Committee to act swiftly to designate the vessels involved.

The UK also continues to highlight at the Security Council Russia's systematic erosion of the UN sanctions architecture. Russia's April 2024 veto of the 1718 Committee Panel of Experts has undermined our collective ability to monitor DPRK sanctions violations. The UK and ten international partners subsequently established the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team to fill the information gap.