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NEW YORK -- The United States and other U.N. members on Friday criticized Russia's latest mutual defense treaty with North Korea in a Security Council session.
The 15-member panel charged with maintaining global peace and security discussed alleged weapons transfers from North Korea to Russia in the meeting convened at the request of a group of countries including the United States, Japan, and South Korea.
The new pact "directly violates" international sanctions against North Korea, Hwang Joon Kook, the ambassador of South Korea to the United Nations, told the council. The country holds the panel's rotating presidency this month.
"Any relationship that any country has with (North Korea), including the Russian Federation, must entirely abide by the relevant Security Council sanctions," Izumi Nakamitsu, the U.N. undersecretary general for disarmament affairs, said at the session.
After the meeting, Robert Wood, the deputy U.S. ambassador to the world body, said in an interview that the United States believes a new treaty between Moscow and Pyongyang "clearly" violates U.N. sanctions because it "ensures there is continued military-technical cooperation."
"This is new terrain for the international community, where you have a permanent member of the Security Council behaving in this way and working with a rogue state to undermine Security Council resolutions," Wood said.
Russian ambassador Vassily Nebenzia hit back against allegations of its sanctions violations, saying that Russia's cooperation with Pyongyang, including the pact, was solely "constructive and legitimate" in nature and that accusations of its use of North Korean missiles in its invasion of Ukraine were "completely false."
Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un concluded a comprehensive strategic partnership pact, which included a mutual assistance obligation between the two countries in the event of aggression against either.
Moscow has allegedly been using North Korean munitions and armaments in its invasion of Ukraine, while Pyongyang could be seeking Russian petroleum and military technology.
The U.N. Security Council has been split since 2018 on how to address Pyongyang's ballistic missile and satellite launches, as veto-wielding Russia and China favor reviewing sanctions already in place against the country rather than imposing additional ones.
An auxiliary expert panel that provided advice to the council's committee on possible evasion of sanctions against Pyongyang expired on April 30 after an attempt to renew it was vetoed by Russia.
Wood said in the interview that no replacement entity has been advanced, as the relevant countries "haven't agreed yet" on the idea.
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