1. In response to the ballistic missile launches by North Korea on July 4 and 28, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted on August 5, New York time, Resolution 2371 on North Korea pursuant to Article 41, Chapter VII of the UN Charter. The resolution calls for expanded and tougher sanctions against the North than those previously imposed by the Security Council.

° Security Council Resolution 2371 consists of ten clauses in the preamble, 30 in the main body and 2 annexes.

※ Resolution 2371 marks the eighth sanctions resolution the Security Council has adopted on North Korea, following Resolutions 1718, 1874, 2087, 2094, 2270, 2321 and 2356 adopted in 2006, 2009, 2013, 2013, 2016, 2016 and 2017, respectively.

2. By adopting Resolution 2371, the entire international community once again expressed its firm commitment to never tolerate North Korea’s nuclear and missile ambitions. As previously warned by the Security Council, through the resolution, the body imposed sanctions befitting the North’s reckless provocations that pose a threat to international peace and security.

3. Security Council Resolution 2371 calls for expanding and strengthening the measures included in the previous resolutions; enforcing new sanctions that can have tangible impact on the North Korean regime; and subjecting an increased number of individuals and entities to sanctions. The resolution, which calls for applying more widely measures included in tough Security Council Resolutions 2270 and 2321, is expected to cut off the inflow of foreign currency to North Korea, financial resources for its nuclear and missile activities; and to send to the North Korean regime the clear, stern message that the international community will not tolerate a nuclear North Korea.

° In particular, the new resolution calls for a complete ban on North Korean exports of coal, iron and iron ore, unlike previous resolutions that allowed the North to export them; prohibiting the North’s exports of lead, lead ore and seafood; and restricting the number of North Koreans working abroad -- measures expected to significantly reduce North Korea’s foreign currency earnings.

※ The resolution, when implemented, is expected to help reduce North Korea’s foreign currency income by approximately one billion US dollars -- 400 million dollars from coal exports; 250 million dollars from iron and iron core exports; 100 million dollars from lead and lead ore exports; and 300 million dollars from seafood exports.

° In its new resolution, the Security Council added to its blacklist nine individuals and four entities involved in North Korea’s nuclear and missile development, which include the DPRK Foreign Trade Bank and other major entities and individuals who had been playing roles in making foreign currency earnings.

° In addition, the resolution includes effective measures designed to block North Korea’s procurement channels for its development of weapons of mass destruction. Among the measures are banning the transfer of newly added items for their possible use in the development of both weapons of mass destruction and conventional arms; authorizing the North Korea Sanctions Committee to designate vessels related to the prohibited activities and obligating all Member States to prohibit the entry into their ports of the designated vessels; prohibiting the opening of new joint ventures and the expansion of existing ones with North Korea; and requesting that the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) issue special notices with respect to designated individuals.

° Furthermore, the Security Council, taking note of the humanitarian impact of North Korea’s nuclear and missile development on its people, expressed concern over the diversion of its scarce resources toward its nuclear and ballistic missile development; and citing the findings of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance (OCHA) that well over half of the people in North Korea suffer from major insecurities in food and medical care, expressed deep concern over the grave hardship to which the people in the North are subjected.

4. The government of the Republic of Korea, consistently committed to responding sternly to North Korean provocations, had made necessary diplomatic efforts in the lead-up to the adoption of Security Council Resolution 2371 in close coordination with related member states of the organization.

° Going forward, the ROK government will thoroughly implement Resolution 2371 and all the other relevant Security Council sanctions resolutions on North Korea in continued efforts to achieve a fundamental denuclearization of North Korea and establish permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula.


* unofficial translation