Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the potential humanitarian effects of a decision to impose sanctions on North Korean oil imports on the civilian population of that country.

Sanctions imposed as a result of UN Security Council Resolutions (UNSCRs) are aimed at the regime in charge of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) which has continued to pursue illegal nuclear and missile programmes. By targeting the DPRK's exports we are limiting the funds that can be diverted to these programmes.

The sanctions are not targeted at the Korean people. The latest resolution reaffirms that the measures imposed by UNSCR 2375 and previous UNSCRs relating to the DPRK illegal weapons programmes "are not intended to have adverse humanitarian consequences for the civilian population of the DPRK". The resolution also reaffirms these measures are not intended to affect negatively or restrict those activities such as food aid, humanitarian assistance, and relief activities in the DPRK for the benefit of the civilian population.

We call on the North Korean regime to prioritise the wellbeing of its people over its pursuit of illegal ballistic missile and nuclear programmes.