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Agence France-Presse

The UN Security Council on Monday approved US-drafted measures aimed at ensuring that tough sanctions on North Korea do not impede deliveries of humanitarian aid to the isolated country.
Nearly half of North Korea’s population – 10 million people – are undernourished, according to UN officials, who have reported a drop in food production last year.
UN resolutions specify that sanctions should not affect humanitarian aid, but relief organisations argue that strict trade and banking measures are creating bureaucratic obstacles and slowing down the flow of vital supplies.

The United States last month proposed new guidelines to allow aid groups and UN agencies to quickly obtain exemptions from the council committee that oversees implementation of sanctions.
After weeks of negotiations, the proposal was approved on Monday.
Dutch Deputy UN Ambassador Lise Gregoire-van Haaren, whose country chairs the sanctions committee, said the guidelines would hopefully “provide clarity on delivering humanitarian aid to the North Korean people without violating sanctions.”
“Our ultimate goal is the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula, and the sanctions are very important to that end,” she said.
Chinese investors seek opportunities in North Korea, sanctions or not
A notice will be sent to the UN’s 193 member-states by the committee “to provide a clear explanation” of the procedure for exemptions which will “improve the delivery of humanitarian assistance” to North Korea, a committee document said.
The United States has rebuffed calls from China and Russia to ease sanctions, urging instead that maximum pressure be maintained to compel North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to follow through on his pledge to denuclearise the Korean peninsula.
A US official said the guidelines would ensure that “only critical, life-saving humanitarian activities needed in North Korea can continue” and that requests for exemptions would undergo a detailed review.
China and Russia delay US bid to halt petrol shipments to North Korea
The Security Council last year adopted three rafts of sanctions targeting North Korea’s economy in response to Pyongyang’s sixth nuclear test and a series of ballistic missile launches.
Those sanctions ban North Korea’s exports of raw commodities while severely restricting imports of a range of goods and supplies of oil – vital for the country’s military.
A UN panel of experts reported on Friday that North Korea was able to circumvent sanctions through ship-to-ship transfers of oil products in international waters, arms sales and illegal banking transactions.
North Korean official visits China amid drive to get sanctions lifted
Despite the move to unblock deliveries, the United Nations is facing a major funding shortfall for its aid operations in North Korea.
Only four countries – Switzerland, Sweden, Canada and France – have made donations to the US$111 million humanitarian appeal for North Korea, contributing a total of US$12 million.


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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in an undated picture released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Friday. Photo: AFP via KCNA via KNS

(180802) -- UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 2, 2018 (Xinhua) -- Photo taken on Aug. 2, 2018 shows a general view of the UN Security Council meeting on the situation in Yemen at the UN headquarters in New York. The UN special envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, said Thursday that he is going to invite the warring parties in the war-torn country to consultations in Geneva next month. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)

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FILE PHOTO – A North Korean flag flies on a mast at the Permanent Mission of North Korea in Geneva October 2, 2014. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo

This July 22, 2018, satellite image released and annotated by 38 North on Monday, July 23, shows what the U.S. research group says is the partial dismantling of the rail-mounted transfer structure, at center, at the Sohae launch site in North Korea. 38 North said North Korea has started dismantling key facilities at its main satellite launch site in what appears to be a step toward fulfilling a commitment made by leader Kim Jong Un at his summit with President Donald Trump in June. (Airbus Defense & Space/38 North via AP)

This July 22, 2018, satellite image released and annotated by 38 North on Monday, July 23, 2018, shows what the U.S. research group says is the dismantled engine test stand at the Sohae launch site in North Korea. The U.S. research group says North Korea has started dismantling key facilities at its main satellite launch site in what appears to be a step toward fulfilling a commitment made by leader Kim Jong Un at his summit with President Donald Trump in June. (Airbus Defense & Space/38 North via AP)

Ryu Myong-son, deputy director of the North Korean ruling Workers' Party's international affairs department, landed at Beijing Capital International Airport on an Air Koryo flight Monday morning. Photo: YONHAP News

China’s trade with North Korea nosedives as United Nations nuclear sanctions bite

Trucks cross the Friendship Bridge over the Yalu River from North Korea to Dandong, Liaoning province, China. Trade between the two countries declined sharply in June. Photo: Reuters

North Korea leader Kim Jong Un inspects construction sites in Samjiyon County, North Korea in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on July 10, 2018. KCNA/via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS IMAGE. NO THIRD PARTY SALES. SOUTH KOREA OUT. THIS PICTURE IS DISTRIBUTED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS.

Mike Pompeo says that North Korea deal ‘may take some time’ and that sanctions will remain in place

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo listens to President Donald Trump during a cabinet meeting at the White House on Wednesday. Photo: EPA-EFE

President Donald Trump, right, talks with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, left, during a Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, July 18, 2018. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

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The guidelines will ensure that ‘only critical, life-saving humanitarian activities needed in North Korea can continue,’ a US official said


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