Anchor: Efforts by the international community to restrain North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats could now be undermined as the UN Security Council(UNSC) was unable to extend the mandate of its expert panel in charge of monitoring the enforcement of sanctions against Pyongyang. The UNSC on Thursday voted on a resolution to renew the panel, but it was struck down by Russia.
Kim Bum-soo has more. 

Report: 

[Sound bite: UN Security Council 9591st meeting on Non-proliferation/Democratic People's Republic of Korea] 
UN Security Council President Yamazaki Kazuyuki: "The draft resolution has not been adopted owing to the negative vote of a permanent member of the council." 

The UN Security Council on Thursday failed to extend the mandate of the Panel of Experts, which monitors the enforcement of nuclear sanctions against North Korea.

Despite 13 of 15 member countries voting in favor, the renewal of the mandate was struck down by a veto from Russia, as China abstained.  

With the panel’s activities finishing at the end of April, the decision effectively abolishes the monitoring of UN sanctions on North Korea, although the sanctions themselves will remain in place.

Russia's UN diplomats told the council that Western nations are trying to strangle North Korea and the sanctions have proven to be irrelevant. 

[Sound bite: Russian Deputy Ambassador to the UN Dmitry Polyansky]
"NATO members today have essentially dropped their masks and clearly demonstrated why they really want to extend the mandate of the 1718 Committee panel of experts to use it to channel unfounded insinuations against Russia, which we have heard excessively today in this chamber."

[Sound bite: South Korean Ambassador to the UN Hwang Joon-kook] 
"This is almost comparable to destroying a CCTV to avoid being caught red-handed... " 

UN ambassadors from Seoul and Washington argued that Moscow has only emboldened North Korea to act with further impunity. 

[Sound bite: South Korean Ambassador to the UN Hwang Joon-kook]
“At this moment, Russia seems to be more interested in embracing or encouraging the DPRK for its provision of munitions and ballistic missiles for the conduct of war in Ukraine at the expense of nuclear nonproliferation regime and the proper functioning of the security council."

[Sound bite: U.S. Deputy Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood] 
"Moscow has done more today than simply obstruct the work of the 1718 Committee. Moscow has undermined the prospect of a peaceful diplomatic resolution of one of the world's most dangerous nuclear proliferation issues."

Launched in 2009 following North Korea's second underground nuclear test, the panel has provided two reports a year on violations of sanctions.  

The security council imposed its first sanctions on the North after the regime’s first nuclear test in 2006 and has since tightened them through a total of ten rounds of resolutions. However, as other council members sought to add more sanctions in 2022, Russia and China vetoed the move. 
Kim Bum-soo, KBS World Radio News.