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US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during the former’s visit to Pyongyang on Oct. 7.

Following a trilateral meeting by the vice foreign ministers of North Korea, China and Russia, the three countries released a joint statement urging the UN Security Council to reconsider its sanctions on the North.

While North Korea, China and Russia have separately mentioned the need to ease sanctions, this is the first time they’ve officially raised this issue in the format of a trilateral meeting.

“Taking into account the important steps towards denuclearization made by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the sides believe the UN Security Council should start in due time revising the sanctions against the DPRK,” said the joint statement, which was posted to the website of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Oct. 10.

The statement also confirmed the three countries’ joint opposition to unilateral sanctions, which implies criticism of the US’ separate sanctions on North Korea. The officials who participated in the trilateral meeting in Moscow the previous day were North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov.

Leading up to the second summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, which will be held after the US midterm elections on Nov. 6, North Korea has been asking the US to ease sanctions as a key step corresponding to its own measures toward denuclearization. Through this statement, China and Russia are essentially backing up North Korea in its request.

During his keynote address at the UN General Assembly on Sept. 29, North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho made official mention of easing or lifting sanctions. Even though a year has passed since North Korea suspended its nuclear weapons tests and missile launches, Ri said, the US Security Council’s sanctions resolutions have not been changed at all, let alone been eased or lifted.

Prior to that, when US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo argued that sanctions should be maintained during a meeting of UN Security Council foreign ministers on Sept. 27, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov countered that the US should respond with appropriate corresponding measures for North Korea.

During their meeting, the statement said, the three countries confirmed their commitment to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the establishment of a peace treaty. “There is general understanding that this process, the priority goal of which is to establish mutual trust, should be of a step-by-step and synchronized character and accompanied by reciprocal steps of the involved states,” the statement said.

The reference to “step-by-step and synchronous [. . .] reciprocal” measures underlines the basic position of North Korea, China and Russia, and South Korea, and the US has been reviewing this approach as well.

By Lee Yong-in, staff reporter

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