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Sanctions against North Korea

Beginning is 2006, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 1718 in response to a nuclear test that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) conducted in violation of the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. The Resolution placed sanctions on the DPRK that banned the sale of military and luxury goods as well as freezing the government's assets. Since then, the United Nations have passed multiple resolutions. The most recent resolution was Resolution 2270 that put restrictions on transport personnel and vehicles employed by DPRK as well as restricting the sale of natural resources as well fuel for aircraft. The United Kingdom noted that these sanctions were the "toughest measures the Security Council has ever taken". These sanctions, in response to hostile actions taken by North Korea in the form of nuclear and ballistic tests, are intended to keep the DPRK out of the world economic system and cripple the government so that it does not have the resources to continue its nuclear program. When, in 2005, the United States placed sanctions on Banco Delta Asia, a banking system suspected of laundering for North Korea, other banks pulled back and refused business with Banco Delta Asia based on world opinion. These actions taken by the United Nations and United States represent their attempts to turn the financial system of the world into a weapon to be used against the DPRK so that physical violence is not necessary.

There is some discussion on the effectiveness of these sanctions. According to William Brown, of Georgetown University, "sanctions don't have much of an impact on an economy that has been essentially bankrupt for a generation".