North Korea developed nuclear, missile programs in 2020, says U.N. report

  09 February 2021    Read: 788
North Korea developed nuclear, missile programs in 2020, says U.N. report

North Korea maintained and developed its nuclear and ballistic missile programs throughout 2020 in violation of international sanctions, helping fund them with some $300 million stolen through cyber hacks, according to a confidential United Nations report seen by Reuters on Monday.

The report by independent sanctions monitors said Pyongyang “produced fissile material, maintained nuclear facilities and upgraded its ballistic missile infrastructure” while continuing to seek material and technology for those programs from abroad.

The annual report to the Security Council’s North Korea sanctions committee comes just weeks after U.S. President Joe Biden took office.

A State Department spokesperson said on Monday the administration planned a new approach to North Korea, including a full review with allies “on ongoing pressure options and the potential for any future diplomacy.”

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. calls for Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons and North Korea’s demands for an end to sanctions.

In the past year, North Korea displayed new short-range, medium-range, submarine-launched and intercontinental ballistic missile systems at military parades, the U.N. report said.

Reuters


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