On March 29, Russia vetoed the renewal of a United Nations expert panel monitoring North Korea, causing global reactions of frustration and distrust. The United Nations has placed international sanctions on North Korea since 2006, which will continue to be in place; however, monitoring that keeps North Korea compliant with these sanctions will conclude on April 30. It is said that Russia’s veto is a result of multiple accusations that North Korea is aiding Russia by supplying them with weapons for the war in Ukraine.

According to Aljazeera, Russia’s actions are being condemned globally. South Korea’s United Nations ambassador, Joonkook Hwang, stated, “This is almost comparable to destroying a CCTV to avoid being caught red-handed.” By removing the expert panel from monitoring North Korea, the accusations of a weapons exchange will have no substance, considering the United Nations expert panel is currently investigating arms transfers in North Korea. Furthermore, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba expressed his dissatisfaction by stating on social media that Russia’s veto is “a guilty plea.” If Russia or North Korea has nothing to hide, vetoing would not be necessary.

Russia’s action to block this renewal when it does not affect or directly relate to them reveals that there is concealed activity occurring that wants to stay hidden and could potentially be harmful. Although this is not surprising in the least, considering Russia and North Korea have aligning interests in politics, it exacerbates current global conflicts such as the war in Ukraine. If North Korea is indeed supplying Russia, the war in Ukraine will only continue until Vladimir Putin achieves his goal. International security is more at risk if North Korea is not allowed to be monitored as it once was.

The history of Russia-North Korea relations was not present until Vladimir Putin rose to power, as one of his initial goals was to restore ties between the nations. According to the Associated Press, after restoring ties with North Korea, over the years, Russia and North Korea have been aiding each other financially and with nuclear weapons. An alliance is clear because meetings between the two have been held multiple times since the 2000s. Because of their aligning interests in respects to how they want to be seen globally, it is not risky to claim that North Korea is potentially aiding Russia in the war in Ukraine.

The war in Ukraine will only continue if Russia’s allies are given “lenience” regarding their military endeavors.