North Korea has maintained and developed its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs through 2020 in violation of international sanctions, a confidential U.N. report seen by Reuters said on Monday (Feb. 8).
The report, written by the independent sanctions watchdog, said Pyongyang “has produced fissile material, maintained nuclear facilities and upgraded its ballistic missile infrastructure” and continues to seek materials and technology from abroad for these programs.
The annual report to the U.N. Security Council’s North Korea sanctions committee was submitted just weeks after U.S. President Joe Biden took office. A State Department spokeswoman said Monday that the Biden Administration plans a new strategy toward North Korea, including a comprehensive assessment with allies of “current options for pressure and the possibility of any future diplomatic approaches.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and former U.S. President Donald Trump met three times in 2018 and 2019, but failed to make progress on U.S. demands that Pyongyang give up its nuclear weapons and North Korea’s demand for an end to sanctions.
The U.N. report says North Korea has showcased new short-range, intermediate-range, submarine-launched and intercontinental ballistic missile systems in military parades over the past year.
The report said an unnamed member state assessed that “nuclear devices are likely” to be mounted on long-, medium- and short-range ballistic missiles, depending on the size of North Korea’s missiles.
“However, the member state said it is uncertain whether the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has developed a ballistic missile capable of withstanding the heat generated during re-entry,” the report said.
While North Korea has not conducted a nuclear or ballistic missile test in 2020, Pyongyang has announced its readiness to test and produce new ballistic missile warheads, as well as develop tactical nuclear weapons.
The North Korean mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment on the report.
In 2018, North Korea blew up the tunnel at its main nuclear test site, Punggye-ri, saying it proved its commitment to ending nuclear testing. However, an unidentified member state told U.N. monitors that there were still staff at that site, suggesting it had not been abandoned.
Monitors said North Korea and Iran have resumed cooperation on long-range missile development projects, including the transfer of key components, according to an unidentified country. The most recent shipment was last year, they said.
In a letter to U.N. sanctions monitors last December, Majid Takht-Ravanchi, Iran’s permanent representative to the U.N., said a preliminary assessment of the information provided by the monitors indicated that “false information and fabricated data” may have been used in their investigation. .
North Korea has been subject to U.N. sanctions since 2006. Over the years, the 15-member Security Council has tightened sanctions against Pyongyang in an effort to cut off funding for its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
In 2019, sanctions monitors reported that North Korea earned at least $370 million by exporting coal, which is banned under U.N. sanctions. But last year, they said, coal shipments looked largely suspended since July 2020.
Last year, the isolated Asian country imposed a strict embargo during the coronavirus pandemic. The Epidemic sharply cut into its trade, adding to an economy already weighed down by international sanctions.
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