US Calls on UN Security Council to Crack Down on North Korea’s Violations

In an unusual move for the Trump administration, it is turning to the United Nations’ Security Council, calling for action to crack down on North Korea’s sanctions violations. It specifically cited data on North Korea shipping munitions, including artillery shells and rockets to Russia, and exporting coal and iron ore to China.

“This Council needs to address these egregious violations of Security Council resolutions despite Russia’s and China’s efforts to obstruct the Council from updating the 1718 Sanctions List,” said Acting U.S. Representative to the United Nations Ambassador Dorothy Shea. She was speaking during a May 7 Security Council briefing on Nonproliferation and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea).

Shea highlighted independent evidence of the sanction-busting activities of North Korea while emphasizing that Russia last year vetoed the mandated renewal of the 1718 Committee Panel of Experts (referring to UN Resolution 1718 adopted in 2006 to impose sanctions on North Korea following its nuclear tests). Shea contended that China had tacitly supported Russia’s 2024 veto.

“The United States urges all states to ensure their flag registries de-flag vessels for which there is evidence of involvement in sanctions-evasion activities, even if they are not formally designated on the UN’s 1718 Sanctions List due to the obstruction of these two committee members,” said Shea. “We also call on the 1718 Committee to facilitate the implementation of the Council’s sanctions on the DPRK, consistent with its mandate, by updating for the first time since 2018 the list of vessels designated under this regime.

 

Ambassador Shea called on the UN Security Council to crack down on North Korea and its sanctions violations shipping munitions to Russia and commodities to China (US Mission to the UN)

 

In the coming days, Shea announced the U.S. plans to nominate for designation in the 1718 Committee vessels clearly identified during today’s briefing for violations of UN sanctions restrictions. The U.S. is pushing for these efforts as Greece is the current president of the council, and before Russia rotates into the leadership of the council later in the year.

Shea thanked the Open Source Center, which the U.S. said continues to investigate and provide credible reporting on violations and evasions by North Korea of the Security Council resolutions. The U.S. told the council that the Open Source Center is systematically examining hundreds of satellite images to build models tracking vessels and containers. The U.S. said the analysis shows billions of dollars’ worth of artillery shells, rockets, and munitions being shipped from North Korea.  

An April 15 report by the Center entitled Brothers in Arms detailed the munitions trade. It says that over 24,000 containers of munitions and related material, as well as over 100 ballistic missiles, were shipped from North Korea to Russia for use in the war in Ukraine.

A new report released today called Back in Black details the coal trade. The analysis identifies six vessels that have made 18 voyages, all but one to China, carrying prohibited commodities. It reports that the vessels are using common evasion techniques such as switching off AIS signals to go dark, but that they cannot evade the satellites. The U.S. said today at the Security Council that Chinese authorities are looking the other way as Chinese companies import North Korean coal and iron ore in violation of the resolutions.

The actions by the U.S. come as the Trump administration has yet to have a permanent representative to the U.N. confirmed. Shea has been serving as Deputy U.S. Representative to the United Nations since her nomination last summer by the Biden administration, and previously was the Ambassador to Lebanon during the first Trump administration. Donald Trump last week said he would nominate his National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz, to the position after he withdrew the nomination of New York Representative in the House Elise Stefanik in March 2025. In the past, Trump has acted independent and often questioned the value of the United Nations.